New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took one for the team on Monday, restructuring his contract to give the Pats a ton of money to work with in free agency this offseason.
Here's ESPN's Adam Schefter with the report:
In a deal turned into NFL today, Tom Brady restructured his contract to give NE $24 million more in cash to spend this winter, per sources.
Under the new deal, Brady changed the $24 million in “skill” guarantee to only “injury” guarantee, meaning that Brady now would get the guaranteed money only if he were injured. Brady also now can be released from the Patriots without any liability, but he then would become an unrestricted free agent, free to command the type of guaranteed money he has agreed to surrender. This frees up cash for the Patriots to use on other players. New England needs the cash to help re-sign some of its own free agents such as Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder and Shane Vereen, amongst others.
Follow our Patriots news page for 24/7 playoff coverage of your New England Patriots!
Will some will claim that Brady doesn't need the money, especially after his wife, supermodel Giselle Bundchen, made $47 million this past year. However, Brady still turned down a major chunk of change he was fully entitled to in hopes of ensuring the Pats' status as contenders for years to come.