Tom Brady's Buccaneers Contract Extension Worth Reported $41.075M in 2021

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will reportedly earn just over $41 million in 2021, but he'll count only $9.1 million against the Bucs' salary cap.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported a full breakdown of Brady's contract extension, which sets the stage for another rework next offseason if he continues his career:

Teams have been forced to get creative with contract extensions and restructures this offseason to create financial flexibility after the cap dropped from $198.2 million to $182.5 million based on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and the result has been the rise of voided years.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Brady technically signed a four-year extension on top of the two-year, $50 million deal he originally signed with Tampa Bay last March. Yet there are three voidable years to spread out the cost, so it's really just a one-year extension for 2022.

The update from Rapoport shows the Bucs also shifted most of the money to 2021—allowing Brady to earn a market value $41 million without a massive cap hit—and the sides can go back to the negotiating table next year to work some similar cap magic.

Brady was worth every penny Tampa Bay paid him in 2020.

The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer completed 65.7 percent of his throws for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions during the regular season. He added 10 more touchdown throws during the Bucs' playoff run, which ended with a triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.

He'll likely take everything on a year-to-year basis moving forward, and it's hard to imagine him playing on a non-contender moving forward. But he's still playing at an elite level, and there's no reason to think retirement is on the horizon as he enters his mid-40s.

So the Buccaneers' front office will be under pressure to keep the roster around him strong, and having a seven-time Super Bowl champion under center who's counting less than $10 million against the cap is a massive advantage heading into the offseason.