The Buccaneers have yet to move quarterback Tom Brady from their roster. And for good reason.
Before June 1, any effort to shift Brady from the active-roster to a non-rostered status would result in a $32 million cap charge for 2022. After June 1, the Bucs can divide the hit, with $8 million landing in 2022 and $24 million in 2023.
That’s why Saints quarterback Drew Brees didn’t officially retire until after June 1 last year. It’s a favor to the team, one that minimizes a potential cap mess.
But once the Bucs move Brady from the roster, the label utilized by the team becomes critical. If he’s placed on the reserve-retired list, Tampa Bay controls his rights moving forward. If he’s released, Brady becomes a free agent, able to sign with any team at any time.
Before the trade deadline, any effort by Brady to emerge from retirement in 2022 or 2023 or whenever would require his next team to strike a trade with the Bucs, like the Bucs did when acquiring tight end Rob Gronkowski from the Patriots in 2020. After the trade deadline, Brady’s only path to a new team would entail securing his outright release. At that point, however, he’d have to pass through waivers.
After Week 13, even a desire to return to Tampa Bay for a late-season run would require Brady to be released and to pass through waivers before being re-signed. That was one of the overlooked wrinkles in New Orleans’ effort to get Brees to come back for a late-season game against the Dolphins. He couldn’t have, at that point in the schedule, instantly emerged from reserve-retired. The Saints would have had to release his rights, and then to hope that no one else blocked the move by putting in a claim.
Brady should want to be released. By not making his retirement officially official for now (no press conference, no activation of the pension process, etc.), the Bucs can likely get away with keeping him around until June 2. In exchange for not backing them into a $32 million corner, however, Brady should seek — and he should receive — a promise that they’ll simply release him in June. Which would set the stage for Brady joining any team he chooses, whenever he chooses to play again.
And, yes, that’s the reality we must now confront. Less than a week after Brady’s retirement watch ended, his unretirement watch has begun. All because he kicked the door open, only days after it was supposedly closed.
Buccaneers’ eventual Tom Brady roster move will be a major factor in his potential unretirement originally appeared on Pro Football Talk