Tom Brady: A Financial Review & Exercise
Now that Tom Brady has officially-officially retired from the NFL, we’ll dive back into a 23 year career that saw 12 contracts, and an all-time tops $333M earned on the field.
We’ll use this space to accomplish two matters at hand. First, a dive into each of the 12 contracts, including notable notes, average salary rankings, his Win-Loss record & any Super Bowl appearances earned while on the deal.
Then, we’ll do some cringy math work to answer the age-old question: Just how much did he leave on the table?
Tom Brady’s Career Contract Analysis
The Rookie Contract
Tom Brady started his illustrious career at the bottom, signing a 3 year, $866,500 rookie contract with the Patriots back in 2000. The deal included a $38,500 signing bonus & minimum salaries of $193,000, $298,000, & $375,000. 
Brady’s AAV: $288,833
‘06 Rookie QB High AAV: $4.6M (Chad Pennington)
Record on Contract: 11-3
Super Bowl Appearances: 1 (1 win)
Brady actually did pretty well with this initial contract. 5 Quarterbacks were selected in the 6th round of the 2000 draft with Brady scoring the 2nd highest value and bonus of the bunch.
- #168 Marc Bulger (2 years, $543,000, $28,000 bonus)
- #183 Spergon Wynn (4 years, $1.291M, $80,000 bonus)
- #199 Tom Brady (3 years, $866,500, $38,500 bonus)
- #202 Todd Husak (2 years, $498,000, $30,000 bonus)
- #205 JaJuan Seider (N/A)
With no rookie wage scale, and no extension rules in place, Brady was able to extend out of his rookie deal after the 2001 season (and his first Super Bowl win).
2002 Extension
The Patriots spent the 2002 offseason financially transferring their power of state from Drew Bledsoe to Tom Brady. Bledsoe had just signed a 10 year, $102.8M extension with New England in March of 2001, paying him $11.4M that season. However with it becoming immediately clear that this was Brady’s team going forward, New England linked up with division rival Buffalo, shipping Bledsoe and his massive contract out for the #14 overall pick in the 2003 draft (the Patriots moved up to #13 and selected Ty Warren with the pick).
New England now had a Super Bowl winning QB set to earn a league minimum $375,000 in an expiring contract for the upcoming season. They fixed that with a 4 year, $29.625M extension for Brady that included a $3.5M signing bonus. Brady spent 3 seasons on this contract, earning $19M for his efforts, before ripping it up and starting fresh (an exercise he’d get comfortable with).
Brady’s AAV: $7.4M (11th)
League-High AAV: $10.3M (Michael Vick)
Record on Contract: 37-11
Super Bowl Appearances: 2 (2 wins)
2005 Extension
Back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 2003 & 2004 forced the Patriots to replace the 2 years, $24M remaining on Brady’s contract with a 4 year, $42.8M extension. The deal included a $14.5M signing bonus, and $26M over the first two seasons (yes, just $2M more than his previous contract contained).
Brady played 5 out of 6 seasons on this contract, by far his longest tenure under one deal, earning $54.5M for his efforts. He won an MVP in 2007 (in an undefeated season), tore his ACL in 2008, & won Comeback Player of the year in 2009. The Patriots went to one Super Bowl during this tenure, losing to the 2007 Giants thanks to a certain helmet catch.
Brady’s AAV: $10.7M (5th)
League-High AAV: $18.7M (Steve McNair)
Record on Contract: 49-16
Super Bowl Appearances: 1
2010 Extension
After proving he was back to full health with a successful 2009 campaign, Brady was awarded a 4 year, $72M extension by the Patriots. The deal would end up being the largest total value contract he would sign in his career (by $22M). Brady turned an initial $6.6M 2010 payout into $16.5M, locking him $48.25M over the first three seasons of his new contract.
The $18M AAV also represents the first time that Tom Brady held the highest average paid NFL player honor, healthily surpassing Eli Manning’s $16.25M figure, who would get better of Brady once again in the 2011 Super Bowl.
Brady’s AAV: $18M (1st)
League-High AAV: $18M (Tom Brady)
Record on Contract: 39-9
Super Bowl Appearances: 1
2013 Extension
Now 2 MVPs & 5 Super Bowl appearances deep, Brady turned the final 2 years, $20M of his previous deal into a 3 year, $41M extension, including $32M over the first two seasons. This would be the start of Brady’s “keep the line moving” approach to his contract approach.
It’s also the obvious start of Brady taking notably less on an average annual basis, dropping his AAV from $18M down to $13.6M here, dropping him down to #18th overall in the league (despite $12M more to be earned across 2013-2014).
The Patriots lost the AFC Championship in 2013, then beat the Seahawks in the 2014 Super Bowl, thanks to Marshawn Lynch being used as a decoy at the goalline.
Brady’s AAV: $13.6M (18th)
League-High AAV: $22M (Aaron Rodgers)
Record on Contract: 24-8
Super Bowl Appearances: 1 (1 win)
2015 Extension
Brady scored a new deal for his age-38 season, dropping his AAV to 10-year-low $9M per year (87tn in the NFL). He’d earn $13M cash for his 1 season on this deal, thanks to $5M of signing bonus payment carrying over from his previous contract.
The Patriots lost the AFC Championship in 2015, and Brady was the MVP runner-up to Cam Newton. So why the need for a new contract after just one season? Ball air.
Brady’s AAV: $9M (86th)
League-High AAV: $22M (Aaron Rodgers)
Record on Contract: 12-4
Super Bowl Appearances: 0
2016 Extension
Embroiled in the “Deflate-Gate” mess, and perhaps adjusting his finances back to reality a bit, Brady and the Patriots agreed to a 2 year, $41M restructured extension. The deal now paid out Brady nearly $30M over two seasons, instead of the $19M he was due on the previous deal. It also (coincidentally) lowered his base salary down to the league minimum, which greatly reduced the amount of money he would eventually forfeit per a 4-game suspension for Deflate-Gate. He’d go 11-1 following his return to the lineup, beating the Falcons in a miraculous comeback for his 5th Super Bowl victory.
2017 was almost as special, as 40 year old Tom Brady led the league in passing yards, won the MVP, but lost to a Nick Foles-led Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Brady’s AAV: $20.5M (12th)
League-High AAV: $24.5M (Andrew Luck)
Record on Contract: 24-4
Super Bowl Appearances: 2 (1 win)
2018 Extension
The AAV & cash flow dropped down to $15M for Brady’s age-41 extension. It was largely expected that he’d tack on a few more million with achievable incentives, but he wound up going 0-5 in that regard for his 1-year run on this deal. Oh and by the way, the Patriots beat the Rams to score Brady his 6th ring.
Brady’s AAV: $15M (47th)
League-High AAV: $33.5M (Aaron Rodgers)
Record on Contract: 11-5
Super Bowl Appearances: 1 (1 win)
2019 Extension
The Patriots extended Brady in 2019 to free up some cap space, and to ramp up for his eventual exit. The $23M earned in 2019 was a career high for Brady - by $4M. Parting gift?
Brady’s AAV: $23M (14th)
League-High AAV: $35M (Russell Wilson)
Record on Contract: 12-4
Super Bowl Appearances: 0
2020 Free Agent Contract
Brady joined the Buccaneers on a 2 year, $50M contract, scoring the 2nd highest total value, and highest average salary contract of his career. The 43 year old posted a 102.2 rating, threw for 40 TDs, and won his 7th (and final) ring.
Brady’s AAV: $25M (17th)
League-High AAV: $45M (Patrick Mahomes)
Record on Contract: 11-5
Super Bowl Appearances: 1 (1 win)
2021 Extension
Brady & the Bucs decided to run-it-back on a restructured extension that dropped his cap figure from $25M down to $10.5M. When factoring in two bonuses, a minimum salary, & $1.8M of earned incentives, Brady took home just under $40M cash for his efforts in 2021 - by FAR his career high.
Brady’s AAV: $25M (18th)
League-High AAV: $45M (Patrick Mahomes)
Record on Contract: 13-4
Super Bowl Appearances: 0
2022 (Un-retirement) Extension
The final contract of Brady’s career was a 1 year, $15M restructure that paid out $30M in total, thanks to $15M of previously earned signing bonus carrying over to the 2022 season. The Bucs utilized void years to spread everything out as much as possible, keeping his cap figure at a modest $11.896M for the 2022 campaign. 
Brady’s AAV: $15M (109th)
League-High AAV: $50.2M (Aaron Rodgers)
Record on Contract: 8-9
Super Bowl Appearances: 0
How Much Did Brady Leave On the Table?
So here’s the perfectly improbable but still nerdy and fun exercise. We’re going to take every one of Tom Brady’s contracts and re-evaluate them in two separate ways:
First, we’re going to adjust the AAV of his contract based on the years and dollars he actually played on them (already, we’re completely unrealistic, but let’s forge on).
Then, we’re going to find the difference between each AAV, and the Max AAV in the league the year the contract was signed. So for instance if Brady played 4 seasons making $36M over that span, we’re going to call it a $9M adjusted AAV for 4 years. If the league max was $15M when he signed that deal, we’re going to say the difference was $6M x4 years, or $24M total.
Should I bury the lead to save you from the homework? Using this highly scientific formula, we project that Brady left a maximum of $123,806,034 cash on the table by not demanding a top of the market contract every time he re-negotiated. But who’s counting?
Rookie Contract
Adjusted AAV: $301,830
Possible AAV: $301,830
Difference: $0
2002 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $6,337,560
Max AAV: $10,333,333
Difference: $3,995,773 x3
2005 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $10,903,000
Max AAV: $18,700,000
Difference: $7,797,000 x5
2010 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $16,083,333
Max AAV: $18,000,000
Difference: -$1,916,666
2013 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $16,000,000
Max AAV: $22,000,000
Difference: $6,000,000 x2
2015 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $13M
Max AAV: $22,000,000
Difference: $9,000,000
2016 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $14,887,150
Max AAV: $24,500,000
Difference: -$9,612,849 x2
2018 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $15,000,000
Max AAV: $33,500,000
Difference: $18,500,000
2019 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $23,000,000
Max AAV: $35,000,000
Difference: $12,000,000
2020 Contract
Adjusted AAV: $28,375,000
Max AAV: $45,000,000
Difference: $16,625,000
2021 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $39,420,588
Max AAV: $45,000,000
Difference: $5,579,412
2022 Extension
Adjusted AAV: $30,000,000
Max AAV: $50,271,667
Difference: $20,271,667
