Tom Brady reportedly reworking Bucs deal, may play beyond 45

There’s no doubt Brady is nearing the end of his playing career but given he’s 43 and still winning championships, it’s a fools errand to assume he’s retiring anytime soon. As sights are set toward a 22nd season, we already knew that Brady was coming back but now it appears it’s possible for the seven-time Super Bowl winner to go beyond his original two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Brady and the Bucs are in the process of reworking Brady’s contract and that the sides are “getting closer.” That isn’t the surprising part of her report. The surprising thing is that Anderson said Brady would “consider” staying beyond his two-year deal which he’ll be 45 at that time.

From what I heard, the team has a fairly ambitious list of their own guys to work through keeping. Will be interesting to watch the cap gymnastics play out for that endeavor and to see how much- the final structure on Brady's reworked deal aids the team's ability to do that too. https://t.co/l45B3AGK61

— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 6, 2021

Brady has reworked his contracts for years in order to free up cap space and this year is no exception. With the salary cap number going down, it’s more important than ever to make space. Especially for a team who just won the Super Bowl and probably could win again with the same people.

As far as him playing beyond 45. At this rate, would we really be surprised if he’s still playing at 50? As long as his arm is healthy and he avoids any big hits, Brady isn’t going to walk away if he thinks he can still win championships. So if Brady’s considering playing longer, it’s probably a good chance he will.