Tom Brady and the Bucs upstage Cam Newton and the Patriots

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers steal thunder from Cam Newton and the Patriots

March 12, 2021 11:41 AM PT

The New England Patriots have agreed to a one-year deal with quarterback Cam Newton ... wait, hold on.

THIS JUST IN!

Tom Brady has agreed to a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will keep him with the team through 2022.

Whoa. This is a big deal.

Brady will be 45 at that point, but he just led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory — his seventh — last month, while claiming the game’s most valuable player trophy for the fourth time.

The extension adds a year to the two-year, $50-million contract he signed as a free agent in 2020 (the new deal also reportedly includes a couple of void years at the end to help with salary cap issues).

Oh, yeah — back to Brady’s former team.

The deal between the Patriots and Newton is worth close to $14 million, according to multiple media reports. That’s quite a pay raise from the one-year, $1.75-million contract (with lots of incentives) deal Newton signed last year to replace Brady.

Oh, hey, by the way — you know who didn’t even ask for a pay raise after leading the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl victory, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero?

Yep! Good ol’ Brady.

But back to Newton and the Patriots.

He threw for eight touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 15 games to go with 12 rushing touchdowns last season.

But Newton is a former league MVP who easily could bounce back after a year in the Patriots’ system. And coach Bill Belichick is a six-time Super Bowl winner who deserves the benefit of the doubt, even after missing the playoffs a year ago.

Hey, speaking of never missing the playoffs — you know who has never done so as a healthy starter?

Hey, how did you know?