Forbes revealed Thursday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers increased their value by 29 percent from 2020 to 2021.
All NFL teams, in fact, increased their value by an average of 14 percent. It was the biggest gain in the last five years, despite the fact league revenues were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the development was not met by sunshine and rainbows everywhere. Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on Thursday night had a fiery response on Instagram.
"The salary cap dropped by 20 percent ... and the new media deals were announced the day AFTER 2021 salary cap was set," Brady posted to social media. " ... NFL players better wake up @nflpa. NFL players are IGNORANT."
Brady's frustration certainly will be viewed by other players as well-warranted. The league's new media deals, which Forbes attributed as a key factor behind the rise, didn't come as a complete surprise, but still organizations were able to take money out of players' pockets and attribute it to COVID-19.
Forbes noted the league signed $111.8 billion in new media deals.
The Buccaneers now are worth $2.94 billion given their Super Bowl run and, of course, the arrival of Brady himself.
Brady's former team, the New England Patriots, now are worth $5 billion trailing only the Dallas Cowboys at $6.5 billion. The Cowboys have ranked No. 1 on Forbes' list of most valuable franchises for the last 15 years.
