Tom Brady Will Be a Free Agent at Season’s End

Tom Brady will become a free agent on March 17, 2020.

The evergreen New England Patriots quarterback will be without a team at least briefly as a result of his new deal.

The new deal, which technically runs until 2022, has two void years which come into effect on March 17, 2020.

This is a common practice for teams looking to manipulate the salary cap season. It is the first time the Patriots have done this, and they’ve used it on Tom Brady.

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NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport explains the ins and outs of Brady’s latest contract to NFL.com

“Someone can call Tom Brady at 4:01 at the start of the league year in 2020 and try to sign Tom Brady,” Rapoport said Monday. 

“All of this is factually correct. I will also add that the relationship between Brady and the Patriots is very good and the Patriots want to do everything they can to make sure that he plays well with them. But still, Tom Brady will be, if for just one second, a free agent after this season.”

Brady will earn an increased salary of $23 million in 2019 under his new contract, an increase of $8 million. The Patriots will not be allowed to franchise tag or transition tag him for the 2020 season.

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“It’s basically a compromise,” Rapoport said.

“What the Patriots wanted to do is a little raise this year, $8 million. They did not want to hamstring themselves for future years. What if, let’s just say Brady decides to walk away if they win the Super Bowl? This way, they didn’t hurt themselves cap-wise. But Brady wants to make sure they can’t just lock him in with the franchise tag with no negotiations. Nobody wants to play on the tag, everyone wants something long-term. So it’s basically a compromise that hurts both sides a little bit, but helps both sides a little bit and helped them come to this deal.”