Tom Brady's retirement from the NFL was simply an extended winter vacation. In a not-so-shocking move, the legendary quarterback announced on Sunday that he's unretiring and rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd season in the league. Brady's statement, shared via his social media, says that he still has "unfinished business," and his place remains on the field.
Brady, whose retirement period lasted 40 days, is now entering the final year of his contract with Tampa Bay, and has a total cap hit of $20.2 million for the 2022 campaign. According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, the Bucs viewed this upcoming season as a placeholder year for Brady, in terms of his contract. So, it's possible that the team tacks on another year to the 45-year-old's deal, in order to keep building a Super Bowl contender around him.
"What they did last year was something we'd never seen before in the history of free agency in the NFL," CBS Sports NFL reporter Jonathan Jones told the Maggie and Perloff show on Monday. "Alex Cappa is going to the Bengals on that four-year, $40 million deal. Ali Marpet is going to stay retired. But maybe you can get a Leonard Fournette -- maybe you can keep an Ndamukong Suh and a Jason Pierre-Paul. The list sort of goes on and on.
"I'll tell you this, though. Chris Goodwin, who's not going to be happy playing on the tag again, and now he sees Christian Kirk's deal that Jacksonville just gave him. Folks aren't going to be as content with taking less to be with Tom Brady, as they did last year. So Tampa Bay, again, will have to be very creative in how they try to keep the band together."
Brady had walked away while at the top of his game. He's won a staggering seven Super Bowls, the most championships for a single player, along with five Super Bowl MVP awards. Last season, Brady led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns (43) and passing yards (5,316), and helped the Bucs reach the NFC divisional round. Among the league's all-time ranks, Brady ranks first in touchdowns (624), yards (84,250), and Super Bowl appearances (10).
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht released a statement after Brady's announcement, saying that the team "will continue to move forward with our offseason plans to reload this roster for another championship run." Tampa is roughly $3 million over the cap, and according to the William Hill Sportsbook, they now have the third-best odds to win Super Bowl 57. And prior to Brady's decision, his "last touchdown" ball sold for a whopping $518,628 at auction.
The entire NFL conversation between Jones and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Maggie and Perloff Show on Twitter @MaggieandPerl and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.