Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo are reporting that Patriots QB Tom Brady is seeking a new contract before the start of the 2018 season.
“It’s not a pressing issue,” Garafolo said of Brady wanting a new deal. “It’s not anything that is contentious right now. But Brady would absolutely be interested in revisiting this contract.”
According to Rapoport, it’s clear that Brady will return for the 2018 season, despite the report from earlier in the day that he had yet to commit to a return (NFLTR).
“Tom Brady is going to play in 2018,” Rapoport explained. “He said it. Everyone close to him has said it. Everyone I’ve spoken to has said it. The Patriots are going forward with the very strict and stern belief that he will be playing for 2018. I don’t get the sense that they considered any of these reports this morning about ‘maybe he doesn’t play.’
“I also know Brady is planning a little passing camp with some of his buddies before training camp. That does not sound like the kind of the thing you would do if you were not going to play in 2018.“
Brady has been one of the best bargains in the NFL for awhile now, so it should not come as a big surprise to hear that he’s interested in a revised contract that could adjust his salary to something closer to market-value.
Brady, 40, is a former sixth-round pick of the Patriots back in 2000. He signed a two-year, $41 million contract extension with the Patriots back in 2016, which included a $28 million signing bonus. Brady stands to make a base salary of just $15 million in both 2018 and 2019.
In 2017, Brady appeared in all 16 games for the Patriots and threw for 4,577 yards while completing 66.3 percent of his passes to go along with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 quarterback out of 39 qualifying players.
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