TAMPA, Fla. — Wednesday's retirement announcement by quarterback Tom Brady left football fans across Tampa broken-hearted. But, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it provides clarity for a tough salary cap situation the team was facing.
According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, if Brady had decided to leave the Bucs as an unrestricted free agent, he would have counted $35 million against the salary cap in 2023.
That would have pushed the Buccaneers' to an estimated more than $55 million over the salary cap in 2023. That would have forced tough decisions for the Bucs as they start to rebuild after Brady.
With Brady retiring,Auman reportedthe Bucs can now split the salary cap hits across two seasons. Auman reports the Bucs will have a cap charge of $11 million in 2023 and a $24 million in 2024. However, the salary cap will also be rising in both seasons, which will help offset some of the pain from Brady's cap hits.
Tampa Bay will now look to restructure some contracts of current players, release some underperforming players, and re-sign some key potential free agents to get under the salary cap by 4 p.m. on March 15, the first day of the new league year.
