The Real Reason Tom Brady Turned Down A Bigger Salary

Tom Brady is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names in NFL history, and for several good reasons, too — even though there are some out there who can't stand him. After all, he's managed to win seven Super Bowls during his career, and apparently, he doesn't intend to throw in the towel anytime soon. He told Oprah Winfrey during an interview (via PopCulture), "I've always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal," he said in November. "This year I'll be 44, so next year I'll be 45. I got a two-year contract. I'm going to be able to obviously play this year and God forbid anything happens but play next year and then see what happens after that," Brady continued. "If I still want to keep playing, I might be able to do that. And if that's enough, then that would be enough."

And while Brady certainly has the fame, the fortune, and the family life to slow down and enjoy a well-deserved retirement (like a good night's rest), there was a time not too long ago when he sacrificed millions of dollars to make sure that his former team, the New England Patriots, stayed consistent with some of the other top teams in the league. 

Apparently, Tom Brady's love for the New England Patriots runs deep. That's because he reportedly scarified at least $60 million to help the Patriots become the most formidable team in the NFL, according to Insider. For Brady, he knew that being a star quarterback was not enough to carry a team to victory year after year. The publication notes that Brady accepted restructured contracts on his end just so the New England Patriots could afford a solid team rather than just one star player. NBC Sports says that his last deal with the Patriots was $23 million in 2019, while in 2016 he signed a two-year $41 million deal along with a $28 million signing bonus. By comparison, quarterback Russell Wilson earned $35 million with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, with Ben Roethlisberger behind them at $34 million with the Pittsburgh Steelers, per the NFL. 

And Brady doesn't seem to be bitter about it at all. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal back in September, he said, "You think people care what you think. And then you care less what people think, and then you realize no one cared, anyway." So, with that said, how does Brady's new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers align with his previous ones with the Patriots?

When Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020, his transfer made just as many headlines as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time. According to Sport Illustrated, the Patriots' former golden boy signed a two-year contract with the Bucs for $50 million. Before his big move to Tampa Bay, Brady shared a photo of himself signing his contract on Instagram and wrote, "Excited, humble and hungry ...if there is one thing I have learned about football, it's that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that...you earn the trust and respect of those around through your commitment every single day. I'm starting a new football journey and thankful for the @buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do."

Humble and hungry is definitely two ways Brady can be described in a nutshell, and that's not a bad thing at all.