Forbes released its annual rankings of the most valuable NFL franchises on Thursday, which set an alarm off for Bucs quarterback Tom Brady.
The article stated that, despite a loss of revenue and operating income due to the pandemic, NFL franchises were raking in the dough, with the value of the average team up 14% for the league’s biggest gain in five years.
Forbes credited several different factors that helped, but most notably the NFL’s new media deal worth $111.8 billion, an 82% average annual increase over the current deals, per Forbes.
This angered Brady, who took to his Instagram story to call out his fellow players and the NFLPA after the salary cap dropped about $16 million from $198.2 million to $182.5 million for 2021.
“The salary cap dropped by 20%...and the new media deals were announced the day AFTER 2021 salary cap was set,” he wrote. “NFL players better wake up @nflpa. NFL players are IGNORANT.”
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The salary cap was lowered on March 10 prior to the start of free agency. On March 18 the new deal was announced.
However, the new agreements will begin with the 2023 season and run through the 2033 season. This new deal will expand the national media rights payout to each of the league’s 32 teams from $220 million in 2021 to $377 million in 2032, according to Forbes.
This would indicate that the 2021 salary cap was unaffected by the new media deal and should most definitely increase in future years. It seems as if Brady believes that the salary cap should have never decreased this year, though.
The $182.5 million cap was agreed to by the players in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Brady seemed to compliment NFLPA executive director Maurice Smith on that deal, making his latest social media post a bit perplexing to say the least.
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