Tom Brady Contract Details With Buccaneers Reveal Interesting Hint at His Future Plans

Tom Brady made his departure from the New England Patriots official when he signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Brady's contract details have now been reported to the public, and there are some curious nuggets in there worth parsing.

Brady's two years in Tampa will earn him $50 million fully guaranteed. His contract also prohibits the Buccaneers from slapping him with the franchise tag or trading him to any team without his consent.

Not only has Brady locked himself into Tampa over the next two seasons, during which he will be 43 and 44 years old, but the contract provision that prevents the Bucs from using the franchise tag on him implies that he's very much open to playing beyond his current two-year deal.

Brady threw for over 4,000 yards with 24 touchdowns against eight interceptions last season. Those numbers are poised to be inflated a bit this year now that Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will be his main targets, while the offensively-minded Bruce Arians will be on the sideline running the show.

The NFL hasn't seen many quarterbacks that continued to perform at an elite level into their 40s, but Brady is going to try and defy the odds once again. For at least the next two years, TB12 will be the captain of the pirate ship down in Tampa Bay -- but don't be shocked if his tour continues elsewhere in two years' time.