Late Thursday night, SI's Peter King announced that Tom Brady had agreed on a four-year extension with the Patriots. Now, the Globe's Albert Breer provides more details on the deal that will keep Brady in a New England uniform through 2014:
* The extension is for four years and $72 million, going from 2011-14. If you want a five-year total, take it is as, from the most fair standpoint, $84 million. The deal Brady signed in 2005 was really a four-year, $48 million extension. It was massively front-loaded (44 percent of the deal was guaranteed) and that means that it only makes sense to take the AAV of $12 million off of that to count toward the new deal.
* The deal has a veteran record of $48.5 million guaranteed as part of it. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford did get $50 million guaranteed, but rookie deals work differently, so the guarantees in this one truly are landmarks. Philip Rivers got $38 million guaranteed. Eli Manning got around $35 million guaranteed.
Additionally on Thursday, owner Robert Kraft commented on the deal, indicating there were doubts that it would get done.
"You’re never sure because it’s hard," he said. "You’ve got two sides. You’ve got agents, but everyone’s trying to help, but it gets complicated, but now, please God, he’ll be the quarterback here for 15 years. which is unusual."
In his press conference Friday afternoon, Bill Belichick summed it up best when he said, "There is no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady,"