...Brady’s deal pays him $60 million over the next four seasons. He counts $14 million against the salary cap in 2016 and 2017 and $22 million against the cap in 2018 and 2019. He has base salaries of $1 million in 2016 and 2017 and $14 million in 2018 and 2019. Brady was set to earn $19 million over the next two years.
Now he’ll be paid $30 million over the next two years, which is still a steal, considering Brock Osweiler will make $37 million over the next two seasons in his contract with the Houston Texans. Osweiler has started seven career games; Brady has started 223. The Patriots freed up $1 million in cap room this offseason and $2 million next offseason.
Those figures might seem like a bargain anyway by that time with the way NFL contracts are trending. Brady, who’s widely considered one of the best, if not the best quarterback in the NFL, will have the 18th highest cap hit among quarterbacks in 2016, behind Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Kirk Cousins, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick. He’ll have the 19th highest cap hit among QBs in 2017 behind the above players, while swapping out Brees, Cousins and Luck for Sam Bradford, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton and Osweiler. Yes, you read that right. Brady’s cap hit is set to be lower than Bradford’s.