There's no reason for Tom Brady or the New England Patriots to believe that their legendary quarterback is slowing down and now he's signed through the 2019 season, when he'll be 42 years old.
Brady agreed to a two-year extension that will run through 2019, according to ESPN.com's Adam Schefter and Dianna Marie Russini. That's notable for a few reasons, many of which concern Brady's age ... and some of Peyton Manning's records.
While contracts come and go in the NFL, this is an indication that Brady plans to play a few more years. That can't be great news for Jimmy Garoppolo, who was drafted to presumably succeed Brady. His contract is up after the 2017 season. Apparently Brady believes he might have four more years left at that point. At least four years.
And not that it's any surprise, but the extension virtually ensures Brady will retire as a Patriot. Again, contracts come and go — and hey, maybe 42-year-old Brady will hit the 2020 free-agent market. But for all practical purposes this means Brady will spend his entire career in New England.
It might not be a coincidence that the length of the deal gives Brady, if he plays through 2019, a good shot at breaking some of Peyton Manning's career marks. Brady is 13,912 yards behind Manning's all-time mark of 71,940, which he'd probably break sometime in either late 2018 or in 2019, depending how healthy he stays and how well he plays as he turns 40. That of course presumes Manning will retire this offseason and not add to his total. Brady is also 111 touchdowns behind Manning's mark of 539, and four more seasons should put him in range of that record too. If we assume 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns per season for Brady from 2016-18 (and that might be too low, though at some point he has to slow down, right?), then he'd go into 2019 on the verge of breaking Manning's biggest records.
Brady doesn't publicly talk much about legacy or comparing himself to other all-time greats, but it's naive to think he hasn't considered beating Manning's records, given the rivalry between the two. In the deflate-gate mess, some of Brady's emails that had nothing to do with the controversy were leaked and one indicated he thought his longevity would allow himself to pass Manning. That's probably true.
Brady has stayed relatively healthy in recent years and was an MVP candidate in 2015. He had 4,770 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions. If he keeps playing at that level, he might not even need to play in 2019 to beat Manning's records. The track record of quarterbacks maintaining their greatness into their 40s isn't good, but not many quarterbacks have ever played as well at age 38 as Brady did last season.
With Brady still as good as ever and the Patriots contending for a Super Bowl every season, Brady has a chance to blow away any greatest quarterback ever arguments with another ring (or two) and every major career passing record. If Monday's news is an indication, he and the Patriots believe he'll be around through the 2019 to add to his resume.
Heck, maybe he'll even be around longer than that. Until Brady shows some sign of decline, it's probably best to not bet against him.
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