Ron Borges Thinks Brady Took a Pay Cut Just to Screw His Teammates Over. Or Something.
Ron Borges – Before my colleague Gerry Callahan finishes elevating Tom Brady to Mother Teresa status, one needs to know what the contract extension Brady just signed really says. It will take a few days before those details are available (leaked, that is), but the idea that Brady agreed to a massive pay cut over the next two seasons for the good of the team is more than likely unlikely… More than likely the numbers that eventually emerge from this latest charitable act will reveal Brady actually netted a short-term gain plus more guaranteed money while allowing the team to cook the books to turn a projected $43.6 million cap hit over the next two seasons into $28.6 million, a $15 million savings in cap money.
Knowing the Patriots, this will be trumpeted all over the league as Brady taking less money to allow the club the flexibility to sign the talent needed to win another Super Bowl. The club will then try to use this as a cudgel to convince Wes Welker, Sebastian Vollmer, Aqib Talib and visiting free agents to accept less “like Tom” to give them the best chance of winning… According to Forbes, Gisele Bundchen was ranked eighth on Hollywood’s highest-paid women’s list last year, earning an estimated $45 million. In 2011 she and Brady were said to have a combined income of $76 million, making them the highest-paid celebrity couple in the world… So when Welker or Vollmer… hears “Tom took less,” he should do two things immediately. First, ask the NFLPA if “less” actually meant more in the short term for Brady. Then he should ask his wife what she makes. That might put the Mother Teresa aspect of Brady’s apparent largesse into perspective.
Frigging priceless. The latest example of the few remaining holdouts of a bygone era still trying to fight a battle they lost a long time ago. Every football pundit in America, from Callahan to Peter King to the panel on NFL Net this morning and everywhere in between is lauding Brady for what he did. Holding him up as the dictionary definition of a team guy. A leader. Someone who values winning above all else and will do whatever it takes to get another ring. Everyone, that is, but the bitter, axe-grinding wretches in the Boston media like Ron the Plagiarist here. His storyline hasn’t changed in 20 years and he’s not about to start now. Mr. Kraft is a greedy plantation owner. Belichick is his evil overseer. Together they to abuse and exploit their workers. Anyone who signs a deal with them is an idiot. Anyone who holds out or leaves for free agency is Django Unchained. It doesn’t matter that they’ve signed guys to the biggest contract ever (Brady) the biggest deal ever for a tight end (Gronk) for a defensive tackle (Wilfork) or an interior offensive lineman (Mankins). Ctrl+C Borges has his agenda and he’s sticking to it.
So now the one guy who could put himself above the team and get away with it chooses instead to take way less than he deserves to help keep them winning, and even that’s a negative. Brady’s getting scammed. Or allowing himself to be used as a PR move. Or worse, he’s part of Mr. Kraft’s conspiracy to keep the workers oppressed because what the hell, his wife is rich so what does he care? Like since when is it any goddamned business of Borges or anyone else how much the Bradys are worth? Because Gisele is a savvy businesswoman somehow that means he’s expected to take less? Peyton Manning was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but I never remember him getting ripped every time he signed a max contract. BrettFavre was the richest guy in the game but unretired ten times and always for the most money he could get and all we ever heard was how he just loved the game so much he’d play for free. Now we’ve got a guy in Brady who is putting his literal money where his mouth is and the Old Guard bomb throwers in the Boston press try to make it out like this screws every other player on the team. Is he Mother Teresa? Of course not. She never had to put up with bullshit like this. @JerryThornton1