One-on-One: Is Patriots' Tom Brady done after 2019?

Yardbarker NFL writers Mike Tunison and Chris Mueller address some of the hottest issues in the league. This week's topic: Will 2019 finally be the year Tom Brady hangs it up?

Mueller: The Patriots and Tom Brady have a new deal, with Brady’s two-year extension keeping him under contract through the 2021 season. He will make $23 million this season, an $8 million bump from last year. Still, the man with eight straight AFC Championship Game appearances, six Super Bowls and a host of other hardware will only be the sixth-highest-paid quarterback in the league. Of course, given that we’re talking about the Patriots, this deal is also a win for them, as they’ll free up $5.5 million in cap space as a result of the deal. Business as usual, in other words.

It's worth noting that the deal is essentially a year-to-year agreement disguised as a multi-year extension. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was told that the deal will be adjusted each year Brady continues playing. That makes sense. The guy is 42, after all, and no 42-year-old quarterback has ever started all 16 games in a season.

It’s easy to look at Brady and assume he’ll keep right on chugging along, mainly because that’s what he’s always done. Still, at some point the physical toll must catch up to him. Brady seems to realize this, because he hunkered down this offseason and added muscle to his frame. The purpose? To better prepare himself for punishment. That almost seems like an acknowledgement that the end is near. 

One of the last things to go for great boxers is their chin; Muhammad Ali’s quality of life after retirement was poor because he kept taking punches because he could. Brady seems resigned to the fact that he’s going to get knocked around, on account of it getting tougher for him to avoid oncoming defenders, so he geared his offseason toward absorbing contact, not avoiding it. Strengthening the chin, you might say.

There’s also the not-insignificant matter of the pay bump from 2018 to 2019. When you’ve made as much as Brady has, $8 million might seem like a drop in the bucket, but it still represents a 53 percent raise. Perhaps he wanted to get the best payday that he could, while still helping out the team. It would make perfect sense if he was planning on making 2019 his last season. Try to make as much money as possible while still allowing Bill Belichick the flexibility to build the best roster possible in an effort to win one last Super Bowl. You’re Tom Brady, everything else already goes your way, so why not try to have your cake and eat it, too? 

Tunison: It's theoretically possible this could be Tom Brady's last season, but it would have to take a catastrophic injury or a marked decline in ability. Are either of those possible? Sure. But seeing how eager people have been for years and years to proclaim the end of the Patriots, one learns you're better off waiting until it's indisputable.

What's more, Brady is well-reputed as an obsessive try-hard in all facets of life that contribute to his success. Conditioning, football technique, even being an engaging social media presence for those who love normie online humor. Gisele, his wife, has campaigned for years for him to retire and her pleas have fallen on deaf ears. She even made an attempt at sabotage once by leaking that he'd suffered more concussions in a season than had been divulged. And yet, Brady's career persists with nary a valid hint that he will stop.

Once the Patriots unloaded Jimmy Garoppolo, it seemed like this was going to keep going until it was clear it absolutely couldn't any longer. And with no sustained signs of decline, the Pats are making no plans for the future. Backup QB/wide receiver Danny Etling has a better shot to be the new Taysom Hill rather than the latest in a string of Brady heir apparents.

So the new deal gives the Pats a little more flexibility should something unexpected happen, but I'd be surprised if Brady doesn't complete at least the full two years.