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When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got his new deal, some reports mentioned that he was the latest member of the club of quarterbacks with $100 million contracts.
One guy who has never had a $100 million contract is Pats quarterback Tom Brady. Given his performance in 2007, he undoubtedly should.
So how underpaid is he? In 2008, he’ll make $8 million, via a $3 million roster bonus and a $5 million base salary. In 2009, he’ll make another $8 million. In 2010, his total compensation drops to $6.5 million.
He’s carrying a $14 million cap number in 2008 because of the proration of his $26.5 million in bonus money, and due to a 2007 renegotiation that created cap room for the addition of receiver Randy Moss by dropping Brady’s base salary from $6 million down to $720,000.
By all appearances, Brady hasn’t asked for a raise. In our view, the team should raise the issue before Brady ever does. Though he’s making great money, he’s getting far less than he could or should.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
He’s a team player and the greatest competitor in the NFL, he wont speak up. He’s a smart guy, he realizes that the more he makes the less his team will have to spend. The Pats will take continue to pay him well, so what if he has to do a few Calvin Klein ads to supplement his salary.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Brady will never ask for a raise.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I think Brady values winning over more millions.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Brady also could make much more in endorsements. He’s not a money grubber and doesn’t have to have the highest contract or do every commercial. Florio never mentioned that Brady should try to get a new deal after Vick got a better deal. Brady will be taken care of when the time comes. He has never made a spectacle of hid contract and has always low keyed it. Yee and Brady may already be doing something - quietly.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
By being a winner on the field, Brady more than makes up for being underpaid by the Patriots off the field. His annual endorsement money is between $12 and $15 million with most of it coming from Nike. While he’s certainly not making Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan endorsement money, he still gets the most compensation from Madison Avenue of any Quarterback, even one-time Super Bowl winner and Visa face man Peyton “DE-CAF” Manning.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Man, I just hope I don’t hear about him stealing food from the homeless. I think I saw him at Walmart yeterday buying milk and eggs with his foodstamps. We should all be so underpaid.
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Rating: 3.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Maybe Brady has never asked for a raise because he knows he doesn’t deserve one. If he ever had to leave New England and their excellent offensive game plan, he would be exposed for the weak armed, over rated quarterback he truly is. My opinion is he will take whatever salary he is given as he continues to dink and dunk his way into the Hall of Fame.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
tom is great - its not abt $$. how much did marino make and would he trade it all to be on the patriots? plus danny has no rings.
davywavy
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
jhitchins1, if that WERE the case, then Tom Brady would most likely be considered the luckiest person to walk the Earth. He sucks and can’t throw a football, but he managed to get to the AFC Championship game 5 times in his career, going to the Super Bowl 4 times, winning it 3 times, two of which he was the MVP. He set numerous Patriot passing records (over Bledose) and was last years league MVP, breaking records left and right, all while winning more than 70% of his games, with a stellar TD:Interception ratio. That’s really lucky…
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Just another reason Tom Brady >>>>>>>>>>>> Peyton Manning.
Brady will never eat such an insane amount of his team’s payroll. He’s all about the Ws.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 16th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I think it’s hilarious someone believes Tom Brady has a terrible arm.
Is your memory really that short or was the 50 yard bomb to Moss against the Jets a dink or a dunk?
He had to throw short when his receivers sucked pre-Moss, and now he has to throw short when teams sell out to stop Moss.
Who wouldn’t throw short to the best slot receiver in the league?
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March 16th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
If there is one thing Brady could do for his team this year is maybe lower his cap number which is at 14 million due to the fact he dropped his number last year from 7 or 8 million to $785,000 to allow for the Pats to get the Super Freak himself Randy Moss. That my boys is the epitome of a team concept,attitude, and a complete understanding of the salary cap, unlike Peyton Manning.
Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing………
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March 16th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
SeanMartin, you’re over-reacting a bit. I never said he sucked, just that he was weak armed and over rated. There is no doubt he has some talent, but the Montana and Manning comparisons are ridiculous. He’s not even close to Peyton, and even Eli showed him up on the biggest of stages. And yes, he was the MVP, but anyone who watched any of their games knows Randy Moss is the real MVP. You were right about one thing, though, he is the luckiest man alive. He “earned” a starting job over an aging, oft injured former shell of himself QB on a team on the verge of years of greatness, set up by Parcells and continued on by Bellicek. There are probably 5 to 10 guys you could have plugged in their and gotten the same results.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 9:31 am
So Eli showed Brady up this year? But Brady didn’t show Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, or Donovan McNabb up? I’m sorry, but you either hold a personal grudge against Tom Brady, or you no little to nothing about football.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 9:48 am
This sick and pathetic world needs more people like Tom Brady. A class act and the ultimate team player. They should offer him an ownership stake in the team when he retires
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Brady is one of the most, unselfish players in the NFL right now and that’s why I have so much respect for him, even coming from a Jets fan (I said respect, I didn’t say anything about liking him)
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March 17th, 2008 at 11:39 am
You’re stretching everything I say. You seem to think I’m saying he’s the worst ever, which I am not. All I have said is that he is over rated and doesn’t deserve comparisons to the greats of the game. And counting Super Bowl rings doesn’t justify greatness, if that was the case, you would have to say Trent Dilfer was better than Dan Marino, which I hope you wouldn’t agree to.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
jhitchins1, Brady has a gun for an arm and is a better deep passer than Manning. Once he got his weapons, his average yardage per attempted pass went way up and is 1/2 in excess of Manning’s. I don’t know what you’re watching.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’m watching him throw 4 yard passes and having 2 Pro Bowl recievers run for 20 more. You’re just further proving my point, he is the product of a good system, take him out of it and you have an above average QB, along the lines of a Jake Delhomme or Jeff Garcia.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
jhitchins1
Tom Brady is one of the top 5 qb’s to ever play the game.
His leadership qualities are tops. His ability to feel the rush and move up in the pocket is as good as there has ever been. Each receiver that leaves the Pats goes on to do nothing while Randy Moss has his greatest year at an advanced age. To say that 5 to 10 guys could have been plugged in and won those three superbowls is a joke. If Samuel makes an easy interception he wins his fourth in a perfect season. If he played for the Colts with Harrison all these years then the Colts would have at least three SB trophys. He’ll be a first vote hall of famer and despite the ridiculous things your saying, will be respected by all his opponants. Trent Dilfer won because the Ravens had one of the best defenses in history. If Brady had that defense he’d have six rings. You’d love to have him on your team whoever that may be.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Yeah, and if Kyle Boller doesn’t throw 2 picks in the 4th quarter, the Pats don’t go 18-0. It’s all hypothetical. I know that all Patriot fans think Brady is a super hero, but take the blinders off and look at it from an unbiased point of view. The system he plays in calls for short passes with the receivers gaining the bulk of the yards after the catch. Yes he does occassionally throw deep to Moss for long TD’s, but so did Culpepper, and look at him now. His stats are the product of a great team, and I don’t think he would have near the success in a different environment. And top 5 ever? Marino, Elway, Montana, Favre, Unitas, Manning, Starr, Young, they all have top 5 arguments, and Brady is nowhere near that level.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
If Brady won this past Super Bowl, I don’t think anyone could say he is over rated. Only three things happened in that game that prevented that from happening (1. If Asante Samuel doesn’t drop the interception on Eli’s last drive, we win the game. 2. If Ellis Hobbs hadn’t been playing with injuries, and Dean Peas decided to DOUBLE COVER A 6′6″ WIDEOUT INSIDE THE REDZONE, then we would be wearing championship novelty t-shirts right now. 3. On the Patriots’ final plays, Brady tried to go deep to Randy Moss. Had Moss shown the effort he showed during the season, he would and should have gone up and got the ball, LIKE THEY TEACH AT THE COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL LEVEL, at its highest point. You cannot just wait for a ball to come to you; too many times do defensive backs break up the pass. You need to jump and get it at it’s highest point; this shouldn’t be a problem for Randy seeing as he is a physical specimen, and a freak of nature.)
Tom Brady’s awareness in the pocket is uncanny. jhitchins1, I don’t know who you are, or how you are affiliated with football, but it is apparent how talented Tom Brady is. Experts are aware of his skill and touch on it in each pre-game. Christ, he was a winner his whole life; he took the Wolverines to a Big Ten title. He doesn’t make mistakes, and that isn’t due entirely to the Patriots’ system. Manning puts up All Pro numbers year in and year out because he has the offensive weapons, and his defense has sucked giving up quick scores, giving him more time on the field. Brady put up VERY respectable numbers with guys like Troy Brown, David Givens, Doug Gabriel, Reche Caldwell, and now with Welker, Moss, Stallworth and Gaffney he broke several individual records. I think it’s funny that you touch on Tom having a weak arm, yet I have yet to hear anything from ANY professional or expert analyzer questioning his arm strength. He has been compared to Montana for the SB victories, yes, but also for his pocket presence. Tom has the best vision in the league, and that enabled him to only throw 8 interceptions this year, despite dropping back to pass 578 times (and several of those interceptions were off tipped passes!). Tom Brady is incredible, and his skill is the sole reason I think of him religiously, second only to Bill Belichick.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Again with the excuses and “what ifs”. I can see I’m not getting through to you. I’ll give you a number four for your excuse list 4: Brady doesn’t get flustered after being pressured in the pocket for the first time all season, and they win. Also, Darryl Bevell and Brooks Bollinger lead Wisconsin to Big Ten titles, so that must mean they are great as well. I have said this before, apparently it hasn’t sunk in. Titles don’t measure individual greatness, only the greatness of the team. And the thinking of him religiously thing, frankly, that’s just a little disturbing. Although this does explain alot…
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 17th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
One more thing. I would think that someone with the “best pocket presence ever” could avoid getting sacked 5 times in the Super Bowl against a constant 4 man rush and an occasional one man blitz.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 18th, 2008 at 7:25 am
When you want to start naming great teams, especially teams with multiple championships (ie dynastys) more often than not, a great QB is behind center. The Patriots are no exception. The Tom Brady highlight reel is a long one and will roll strait to the hall of fame. Sure he’ll have his envious critics (jhitchins1) just like the ones now coming out of the woodwork now for Favre. But no matter what those folks say, Tom Brady will be mentioned in any arguements regarding the best QB’s of all time. Be it comebacks, championships, most TD’s in a season, leadership, pocket presence or whatever else has to do with QB greatness, his name will be mentioned. Aside from that, he’s not even through yet so let his critics blithly fire away because those in the know, the guys he’s played against, the guys he’s played for and any open minded individual that knows anything about football will tell you that Tom Brady is one of the very best to ever play the game.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)