Tom Brady Signs Extension That'll Let Him Play Until 45

On the same day his former team re-signed his replacement for reasons unknown, Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady reached an agreement with the Buccaneers on an extension that will keep him with the team through the 2022 season.

Technically a four-year contract extension that voids to a one-year extension after next season, the deal will keep 43-year-old Brady with Tampa through the age of 45. The extension saves the Buccaneers $19 million against the cap this year and the voidable years are there to help the team defray the cost over time, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “It was another effort from Brady to keep as much of the team together as possible,” he writes.

Amazingly, Brady becomes the first Bucs quarterback in history to sign a second contract with the team.

After winning the Super Bowl during this first season in Tampa Bay, Brady will return to lead a team that has an excellent shot at repeating as champions thanks to a soft schedule and having the ability to bring back many of their core players. One of those players, inside linebacker Lavonte David, also got an extension and will be back in Tampa with Brady.

“Tom is one of those guys that understands that it takes a whole village to win,” David said Friday. “It takes a team, a group of guys, to win football games. Me, the same thing. I’m all about team. And I’ll do what I can, do what it takes to hopefully get everybody back and go do this thing again … The bond that we had, the bond that we shared this year — it was like no other.”

As recently as 2019 Brady said he was planning to play until the age of 45. But during a media availability ahead of Super Bowl LV Brady said he would “definitely” consider playing past his 45th birthday.

“I’d definitely consider that,” Brady said. “It’s a physical sport. Just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that moment is. Just because it’s a contact sport. There’s a lot of training that goes into it. And it has to be 100% commitment from myself to keep doing it … It’s just going to be me continuing to make that commitment to making it part of my year-round process to play football and continue my career.”

As long as Brady keeps winning, and it certainly seems like he will, expect that career to continue to 45 and beyond.