NFL Rumors: Tom Brady Had These Two Requests For Bucs In Contract Negotiations

It’s been made clear that money supposedly was not Tom Brady’s top priority in his latest contract negotiations.

So, then, what were his priorities?

The legendary quarterback left the New England Patriots last week to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs gave Brady a two-year deal worth $50 million in guaranteed money that also comes with $9 million in incentives.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, once Brady’s camp and the Bucs began speaking seriously, the 42-year-old had two main requests: Commitment and flexibility.

“Yee did, of course, eventually lay out terms to the Bucs, and he would to the Chargers too. Brady wanted a two-year commitment, backed by guarantees. He had a rough ask for $30 million per year, but that was flexible. The big thing was he wanted to allow for his new team to add to its roster where it saw fit.

“The deal that wound up being hammered out reflects all that. Brady has a $10 million roster bonus and $15 million base in each year, all of it fully guaranteed. And in both years (we’ll detail this later in the column), he got $2.25 million in performance incentives, and $2.25 million in playoff-related incentives. That means he’s assured of $25 million in each year, with the chance to get to $29.5 million.”

While the Bucs are taking a bit of a gamble by giving a quarterback in his 40s a multi-year deal, it appears a few things about Brady appealed to Tampa when it came time to decide which free-agent quarterback the franchise would seriously pursue.