There are few things worse than turning on ESPN the morning
after Tom Brady has done something good. Well, other than turning on ESPN the
day after the Ravens win the Super Bowl.
I was swamped Tuesday morning with all the discussion of the
benevolent, team-only, All-American Brady. I mean, who else would be so
wonderful as to give up money in
order to give their team help with the salary cap? Only the golden boy with the
Bieber Fever locks would do such a thing! It’s the “Patriot Way.”
This is the image of the "Patriot Way" that most players and fans prefer
Great. One MORE reason for the media to slobber all over
Brady and the Patriots. Still, let’s slow up a little here and deal with the
facts.
Brady didn’t “give up” any money. Brady extended his
contract for a lower salary on the back end in
exchange for getting his money now and giving the Patriots some cap relief.
He is still due to make the same amount of money.
The risk for Brady is that this makes it easier for the
Patriots to cut later in his career if his play declines. But it really won’t
matter because he’ll already have his money.
And before we start worrying about his ability to make rent
this month, keep in mind that his wife makes a little cash at the boutique on
the weekends. Something in the neighborhood of 100 million or so.
Yes, this is a good thing for Brady, who gets to keep a
solid offensive line and Wes Welker. It’s a good thing for the Patriots, who
may get to sign some additional players to help Brady. But he isn’t St. Francis
or Mother Theresa by any stretch of the imagination.
NFL teams will try to use this to keep salaries down for
their free agents (see Flacco, Joe). But most players don’t have a wife who is
raking it in, and therefore don’t have the luxury of leaving money on the
table.
And I don’t blame them a bit for seeking every dollar now
rather than later, because it can all be gone in a split second. There isn’t an
NFL team out there that won’t cut you the minute that you are of no use anymore.
Players have no choice but to strike while the iron is hot.
Brady gave up very little, and he had a lot of collateral
that other NFL players don’t have. Good for him. It’s perfectly within his
rights. But you shouldn’t criticize your team’s stars if they don’t follow
suit.
They’ve got a lot more at risk than Brady. And I suspect that's one more reason that players will feel the same way that Terrell Suggs does about All-American Brady and the Patriots.
(Not to leave out some fan perspective: Here's a fun blog to sum up the fans' feel for the Patriots.)
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