NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – Tom Brady filed his retirement paperwork with the NFL and NFL Players Association on Friday, several reports said, cementing the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s Feb. 1 announcement that his playing days were over.
Brady retired last winter, walked it back 40 days later and played one final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers got three seasons with Brady, winning a Super Bowl in his first year on the scene and losing in the playoffs the next two seasons.
Now the bill has come due for Tampa Bay, as it will take a full $35 million dead-cap hit in 2023 as a result of Brady’s retirement.
Had Brady worked with the Bucs on a contract amendment to keep Brady on the books with so-called voidable years and processed his retirement after June 1, they would have been able to split the dead-cap hit between 2023 and 2024. Instead, multiple reports said, all $35 million will be assessed in 2023, putting Tampa Bay nearly $60 million over the salary cap.