Negotiating a Contract With Tom Brady

Scott Pioli explains the process of negotiating Brady's first contract with the Patriots! Watch Julian's reaction to Tom taking a pay cut and tune into the full Scott Pioli and Julian Edelman conversation here: • The Tuck Rule Game | J...
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Hosted by former Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, Games with Names is a podcast on the search to find the greatest games of all time. From the infamous to the unforgettable, we dive back into the classic matchups and eras across all of sports history. Joined by the players, coaches, and celebrity fans that lived it, we’ll uncover first-hand insights and never-before-heard stories, shining new light and perspective on the greatest games of all time.

[@wildwit-music]

We New Englanders appreciated that so much. Not only was Brady amazing, but he was selfless in that way. He kept a good team around him. Very rare to see that nowadays. And he's right! If you can't live your life of millions per year, you're doing something wrong!

[@danielb7660]

That won't happen again unless someone's wife is making at least $50 Million per year.

[@DidTheMath]

@@wildwit-musicThat was my point.

[@StephenDoty84]

And he did it despite a toxic, vengeful grouchy head coach, which is more impressive.

[@mpc91]

@@StephenDoty84 Cool story. It's not true, but it makes you feel a lot better, doesn't it.

[@StephenDoty84]

@@mpc91 "Not true"? How do you know that, Mr. Snarky Rude Uppity Pretense? Look how he treated the other players.

[@420kushman]

Glad he never forgot

[@viksaluja1]

He has a problem of forgetting that keeps saying “I’ll never forget”

[@MarcoEsquandolas337]

I hope he will never forget

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733]

Ayo Edelnut. I’m gonna need you to take a pay cut for the sake of the team. Bout 2 or 3 mill.

[@ChaseBauer65]

hahahaha

[@omarbahrour]

As long as no one tells him he can’t wear his fuckin red cutters

[@skyworkeralan]

I hear that in Randy Moss' voice lol

[@jestice75]

@@skyworkeralan It reads perfectly in Moss.

[@benmecha01]

Edelman remembers every CENT he missed out on with the Pats!

[@BaronVonMunch]

Do you realize how silly that is? Edelman was a 7th rd draft pick by the Pats. He was a college qb. Belichick and the Pats saw something in him and wanted to make him a WR. Welker wasn't happy at all. During Edelman's first 2 years, he was injured and could barely stay on the field. The Pats were still interested in letting Welker walk because they thought Edelman could be better. Finally, Edelman stayed healthy and showed he was better. Every penny Edelman made was because Belichick and the Patriots believed in him from the beginning no matter if it took a few years. It paid off.

[@StephenDoty84]

@@BaronVonMunch And they even let him play DEFENSE, where he shined as well. i love that clip of him hitting the QB. Plus, after the Seattle interception in the Super Bowl, Edelman turned into a savage defender after his route as receiver and put the star Seattle defender out for the rest of the game with a broken wrist after a brutal tackle. That is the INTANGIBLE that Julian brought to the team.

[@hkgcgsdhjgd]

@@StephenDoty84 Edelman definitely belongs in the conversation of all-time great competitors. He wasn't necessarily the best athlete on the field, but he worked his ass off and didn't back down from anyone.

[@StephenDoty84]

@@hkgcgsdhjgd Yeah, there were some black defensive players on other teams who said Edelman was the toughest SOB in the whole league!

[@stephanea5364]

He'll never forget

[@larracis]

Neither will I

[@jamesbrownsmiles]

Starting to think he'll also never get to the point.

[@StephenDoty84]

@@jamesbrownsmiles Yeah, I thought he was all wind-up and no pitch for the first 2 minutes.

[@common12]

If anyone should have gotten the bag it was Brady. Look at all the players today who get their big payday and then suddenly their performance drops.

[@scratchpenny]

In the end, he got the bag. His name is as close as it gets to Michael Jordan in the NFL. That's why he got over 350 million dollars to be a broadcaster. He will cash in on his name for the rest of his life.

[@Robert-is7du]

Games people play Jerry rry Jones will only hire a subordinate Jerry knows he can CONTROL He couldn't control Jimmie Johnson and he left Every failure is a communication failure Nobody likes to be ordered what to do People who are genuinely free don't take orders from anyone People enjoy making their own free choices in life and don't wanna be held captive by a DOMINANT person who cannot stand U if Ur not obeying every order like the military The NFL is corporate Artificial Intelligence Finite energy system rule If U don't OBEY the ABUSER UR Electrical Spirit life force is gonna get Targeted and shadow body banned by demonic software possession by control programs Trauma based neuro logical central Nervous system breathing patterns control programs Digital Soldiers camera eye robo phone hex nut grid network coded implosion coded NOVA programs Quarantine Victim victimizer QI coded Trap experiment that spread to 2 other Matrices Obsessed with winning numbers at all costs including sacrificing anyone who knows how to build capacitors on Galactic Motherboards Mu ah VA 💋🌈 Aurora's Spiral Council 🩷

[@garse70]

Love this story and Tom’s comment about being able to live off $60M. Plus, he was making endorsement money up the ass.

[@robotbro7187]

he made a smarter long term decision buy choosing rings over gutting the team for top dollar. Those sbs made him a legend, and got him great opportunities post retirement, and even more money from endorsements/investments. He will eventually become a billionaire. He was also married to an extremely rich woman, so that helps too lol

[@MikeVrabelINC]

He still got the bag tho, dude wanted to win, god we were fucking lucky holy shit 😂

[@beep1955beep]

Reminds me of the joke, “A seven time Super Bowl winner walks into an Office”…..

[@nexigram]

“Not a negotiation! It was really not a negotiation!” Narrator: It was definitely a negotiation.

[@Mu5icPr0ducer]

He has a great memory

[@kentwoodgrandrapids3622]

There’s nothing cool calm collected about a Dragon 😂 Edelnut

[@tyler6722]

Nah he said "cool, calm, and collect", not collected. As in, collect this mf bag I negotiated for you

[@MP-tf7cc]

Brady took TENS OF MILLIONS LESS to stay with the Pats and in the end, Bill wouldn't give him the 2-year deal that he wanted 🙄

[@darbyheavey406]

That why Tampa….

[@JDigg99]

Still makes me mad/ sad

[@spooge33]

That was criminal.

[@karlinchina]

He was old

[@spooge33]

@@karlinchina So he got younger in Tampa? You're a genius 🤣

[@fredericklockard3854]

You’ll never see another QB who takes less for the good of the team again. Now it’s all about getting as much as they can and then promptly sitting back, playing worse, and collecting their millions. Look how many of these young QBs have these incredible contracts and then just stop being great.

[@carlosrossi9201]

Mahomes doing that right now.

[@fredericklockard3854]

@@carlosrossi9201 ummm he took a 500 mil contract and was the first 50 mil a year player in NFL history. And you know he’s gonna get extended again.

[@RoboWarriorGhosT]

⁠@@carlosrossi9201the chiefs are 4-0 right now? What is this brain dead take of yours?

[@finsfan90]

@@RoboWarriorGhosT Its gonna lead to the eventual implosion of the team once they can no longer afford anyone.

[@jlm7060]

​@@fredericklockard3854 Mahomes restructures his deal every year and takes less for the home team discount. He's making 37-mil this year in 2024. He's actually only ranked 13th highest paid qb according to cap hit...behind 12 other qbs who are making way more like...Trevor Lawnrence, DeShaun Watson, Tua, Jaylen Hurts, etc.

[@TheOchoShow]

brady and edelman are making their bread on the backend in media.

[@MustangMike012]

It’s weird hearing people calling Brady Tommy

[@amranSK55]

SP has been calling brady "Tommy" for about decades, even in the old nfl films, go chech them out.

[@MustangMike012]

@@amranSK55 Bledsoe also calls him Tommy.

[@cleanestbestpleasure14]

I heard Kraft call him Tommy.

[@Patriotic1980]

Since Michigan.

[@aliceflanagan3672]

Family calls him Tommy

[@SodiumWage]

I swear that every video they lower the chairs just a few millimeters. Eventually Jules will be sitting on the floor and we'll just be staring at his shoes.

[@Titleist24]

Patriots lowballing Brady since the beginning, hilarious

[@BaronVonMunch]

Brady at one point was the highest paid qb. Happened when he started putting up higher stats. The idea he took massive discounts just isn't true. He probably did the same as what Mahomes does now. Mahomes could have demanded more and could still demand more, but he doesn't. Actually, most players aren't a-holes about this stuff. Many stars are similar to Brady.

[@pnwguy00]

Now in 2024, we know that's a Kraft philosophy that Belichick took the slings and arrows for all those years

[@Titleist24]

@ not really, we know Kraft gave belichick a set amount to spend and bill used it as he pleased. Either way bill didn’t think Brady was worth 25$ mil a year, when he was an mvp caliber qb who Should’ve made double that. Also, we have had a 1 year sample of the patriots without bill. Tough to make a total assessment on that

[@derjaeger3321]

You serve your client, your aim is to get the deal he is happy with, if that means less money to stay with a particular team or move to a particular city - so be it. I have taken less money to stay in an environment that I am happy in.

[@Obi1to1]

Tom left money on the table so the Pats could pick up or pay the difference makers to win Superbowls!!! Tom took less, but got more from football than player in NFL history's!

[@scratchpenny]

Agreed. Tom Brady was playing the long game, and it paid off. He will cash big checks due to his name for the rest of his life.

[@BaronVonMunch]

He didn't take as much less as this myth suggests. He wasn't a pain in the ass, but he did at one time sign for the highest qb salary in the league. Manning passed him shortly after. Tom was very well paid. Tom did what many other players have done. Not everyone is a jerk demanding to be the highest paid like a Mookie Betts.

[@hkgcgsdhjgd]

@@scratchpenny I don't even think it was that. I think when it comes to Tom Brady, football comes first and the money is secondary.

[@WrathMania32]

I trust Scott when he says he wasn’t comfortable doing bottom-line business, but Belichick lmao cmon

[@BaronVonMunch]

Why would Belichick love it. Bill is doing that as his job on behalf of Kraft. You think Belichick was the reason the Pats were cheap? Owners set budgets, the Belichicks of the world do their job. And Belichick liked his job so he never complained. He is a company guy.

[@beverlyboys73]

Great story

[@DidTheMath]

Dak Prescott is making the same in one year that Tom Brady did six. I know there’s a few years in between contracts but goddamn that is crazy.

[@akosh1976]

yes but he is almost good as Brady….they “almost” beat the Lions yesterday 😂😂😂

[@craigbaxter4595]

How is that working out for the cowboys

[@BaronVonMunch]

The salaries are massively different now than what they were. You can't compare. For a while, Brady was the highest paid qb in the NFL.

[@nm4698]

T.B. is the best draft steal in the history of the NFL!

[@stevencook4002]

If Brady doesn’t do that he may not have won as many Super Bowls. In the long run it was better for him financially. Look at the contract he signed as a TV analyst. He didn’t get that because he’s a great analyst..he may be eventually, but he got it because of his tremendous success in football.

[@davidfuller2011]

3 things in life are certain; death, taxes and he'll never forget...

[@okenwa1983]

🤣🤣🤣

[@steves186]

It wasn't a negotiation.

[@tw5139]

Tom walked into your office and said "Dang, there are a lot of dudes sleeping with my wife, one even just knocked her up!"

[@masterbulgokov]

That's a good 1.5 minute story stretched over 4 minutes.

[@garywinthorpe3382]

Kirk cousins has made more then tom brady did in his career

[@Jerid58]

Very cool Brady said that about living on 60 mill.

[@justinschrank4806]

Unreal. And now mediocre qbs think they are entitled to 60M A YEAR

[@troylee4196]

Him and Peyton made a lot but never made the money they could've made because they weren't greedy Nowadays, the NFL just makes so much more money it's just not worth it to settle for less

[@justinschrank4806]

@@troylee4196 It's called being smart. They took less so they could win. It's always worth settling for less if you can win superbowls

[@LarryChiang]

That’s Tom Brady’s new nickname THE DRAGON

[@happyhappyjoyjoy6497]

‘I’ll never forget’ 85 times…..dude spit it out, I never forget when you took forever to get to point

[@pitmclord]

“Calm cool and collect” I thought dragons were huge fire lizards

[@Braxtonanton]

Hard to figure actual contract with signing & roster bonus being 10s of millions

[@marshalmagooo3899]

Remember...all Tom wanted when he signed originally was to have new socks everyday....Middle Class kid who just wanted to win

[@TeamGames19]

This guy looks like the punisher

[@CreepyBlackDude]

People in the comments keep bringing up Maholmes's name like they really want to believe something about him. Maholmes has the most valuable contract in the league at 450,000,000...but it's 10 year contract. By literally every other metric that QB contracts are usually compared--Average Per Year, Fully Guaranteed, Total Guaranteed, 3-Year Cash, etc.--Maholmes doesn't appear at the top. In fact, he's not even in the Top 10 of ANY of those categories in terms of how much he's getting paid. Yet he is second only to Brady in terms of leading his team to consecutive Conference Championships, with only a TE as a true standout star after losing a superlative WR (sound familiar?). Man ain't perfect, but stop acting like he wouldn't do what was needed to keep his team together. He doesn't need a pay cut because he's already being underpaid.

[@sirus312]

tommy boy!!

[@thegreatrenaldo7718]

Patriots underpaying their best talent especially the GOAT? Seems about right

[@Relisoc4]

It’s awesome brady did this. But I don’t feel like it should be allowed in sports tbh. It just sets a very weird precedent and PA’s definitely hate it.

[@ZombieNation85]

Jules!

[@Moananuiākea]

Which is why brady is the goat. No other QB this day and age would especially mahomes, dak and hurts to name a few would take a deal like this.

[@mccoy5542]

my brother in christ i would pay 6 years 60M for Tom Brady at his current age how was the salary cap so low back then???

[@steves186]

Ridiculously low, most NFL players with kids were on food stamps. C'Mon Man!

[@gavinharbin9903]

To paraphrase - “We didn’t expect people to take home team discounts, we wanted everyone to benefit” Right, because the Patriots have always been known to provide lucrative contracts during their dominant era…. Many corporations would action this mindset through “profit sharing”, did the Patriots do this? No.

[@BaronVonMunch]

Take it up with Kraft. He has always been pretty cheap. Not sure what you're talking about with profit sharing. Do any other NFL teams do this? If not then you're just being silly.

[@gavinharbin9903]

@@BaronVonMunch I don’t have an issue to raise. Doesn’t affect me. Just stating that it’s more corporate-style BS that they are doing it for “everyone”…right… And no I don’t believe it exists, which was my point. If you were truly trying to cut costs to keep everyone for the ultimate goal of the betterment of everyone, wouldn’t you find a way to reinvest those earnings back into your “employees”? That’s what the guy was saying - we’re doing this for the benefit of all. Nope you’re doing it for your owners and stakeholders. And that’s fine, no need to lie.

[@Jeremy2020]

How is Kraft's investment in TB12 going?

[@lamelama22]

Imagine if Dak took just a little bit less than needing to be the highest paid player ever... maybe the Cowboys could've signed Derrick Henry and some linemen. :D

[@IzzyWilliams-qn7ze]

Lets hope somebody DOES make a video of her 😂

[@jaseg6427]

6yr/$60m. 60m minus taxes, let's say 45m. Then u got agent 1-3% now at 44m. Then jock tax id read on Google it's $2500. All said & done he may take home between 25m-35m

[@jaseg6427]

QB $ rankings. Ion think brady was in top 10 during his Patriot yrs.

[@ZenWarrior-n7c]

I thought dragons were huge fire lizards

[@Bryan-fb8dh]

He seems very uncomfortable. Its because in truth his real job is to put money in his boss's pocket. If he doesn't he's fired and replaced by someone who will. Someone in that position learns how to make people feel good about taking less. He's not a bad guy but he 100% is not looking out for you. Is your money or his job more important to you is the question. He's your buddy.....right?

[@tchombre1992]

I mean there's a salary cap... The money is being spent regardless, it's just about where to distribute it. His job is to build the best team with that money. I'd say the Patriots consistently did that for 20 years (while saving money compared to the other teams around the league) and a large thanks was to Brady's player friendly deals. Tom's rookie contract was 4 yr/ $2.5M... After all the people he had to pay and the taxes, the dude was living a very middle class life in the Boston area as the most famous football player in the league. I'm sure he was genuinely fine with $10M/yr.

[@someguy1994]

There's a salary cap, money has to be spent no matter what. Maybe not the year it's granted, but it eventually has to be spent. Salary cap money is not the Owner's money.

[@guycopenstein1385]

His job was to pay people the least amount so they could also pay other players which ended up working quite well. Would Brady trade half of his rings for what he left on the table? I wouldn’t.

[@gamanima1]

No one ever should take a pay cut. It worked out for him. But try telling one of those owners to do the same.

[@Riley_Mundt]

Spoken like someone who knows √Jack-Shit about how contracts work.

[@gamanima1]

@@Riley_Mundt I know how they work I signed a contract to pay me y now you want me to take X go kick rocks with no shoes!

[@steves186]

When did he take a pay cut? He signed a contract for 10 million a year. Pretty sure that was more than he was making before.

[@gamanima1]

@@steves186 come on we know how this works he signed for 10 when he probably could have signed for 20. So he signed for an outlet price when he could have got top dollar.

[@JW20-lx9or]

This guy said a whole lotta nothing. Could have been told in 30 seconds.

[@wswillett]

He should forget to say "I'll never forget"

[@JM-cf9xy]

Meanwhile Dak over here making $60 million a year

[@sychophantt]

60 mil contract is maybe 25 mil real dollars

[@Joeybago12]

Exactly. Thankfully Brady was successful on the field and good looking. Def made more money off the field than on

[@ee-tl9ir]

Bob Kraft being a cheap schmuck? What a shocker!

[@luminaraunduli2791]

So many players try for a max pay on previous production, hamstring the team, success stifled, said player/diva loses edge becomes a bloated liability, bounces around for a while, leaves the league, squanders an 8-figure bank account in mere yrs. Raised to be a selfish, egotistical, emotional, unaccountable, victim/diva!

[@eldridge201]

So, in other words, you mean Tom did nothing out of the ordinary that damn near almost everybody does in a negotiation which is just try to figure out the area that all parties want to be at? Sorry but this was a pretty boring story that had a nothingburger for a climax. Now, the interesting part about the story if anything was that you were talking about when Tom was trying to talk to you both sides or one side and you said that you can't talk to him. I think it would be interesting to hear you elaborate more on that. I'm aware that there are bargaining agreements and rules set up so only once I can talk to one side based on certain parameters and you can't have interference and all that stuff however, if Tommy knew that and he was talking to you, then obviously you were able to do a few things that were not against the rules so it would be interesting to know the more specific details about how Tom got away with this and explain how you were able to talk to the other side with Tom on speakerphone. That is way more interesting than your story of Tom talking about something that pretty much everybody does in a negotiation that is more than boring. Sorry but that's the reality of the situation. Your story wasn't exciting at all and Tom didn't do anything out of the ordinary at all.

[@njdevil8950]

Did he forget?

[@macadamia12]

Now he makes 20m per year announcing ...greedy players today dont get it Make less now = Super Bowls Super Bowls = more $ in retirement

[@davidmay5338]

Uh Julian....men don't cross their legs like that, women do, not men.

[@TomPrefontaine]

too many agents today convince their player to go to a shit team and ruin their career over a few million.

[@brianbushue]

his dad is a billionaire of cause couple million means nothing to him

[@MikeM-le1fv]

Scott Pioli seems like a phony actor. Don’t like his whole act.

[@rm8344]

Crooks

[@tripleglz]

Tommy??? Just stop

[@TheCEOXPerience]

tyreek hill and mahomes missed the memo...

[@wes2262]

Tryeek yes but not Mahones, he’s the 12th highest paid QB right now

[@tyler6722]

Not their job to look out for the ownership's bottom line, they get paid what the market dictates they deserve

[@tommyfu9271]

hill? why on this planet should he take a pay cut for billionaire owners when his career can easily end in an instant? Qbs can at least play for a long time, are largely protected and get a few contracts but most of these other positions are lucky if they get one good contract.

[@scratchpenny]

Don't get caught up in the big headlines. Mahomes restructured his deal and is now paid below his talent level. He takes a lot from a guy like Brady about keeping the team together. If you watch his interviews, he says it all the time.

[@tommyfu9271]

@@scratchpenny for a QB of his or Brady's stature it can make sense. they get way more protection and can play a really long time at that position. for other positions you're lucky if you get one big contract. take what you can get when you can still get it.

[@thor4644]

Who cares let’s go mets

[@MrGlider-002]

I watched Tom Brady’s church get shut down. Does that sound like an idol? Do you know how much rotten stuff had to be going on for that too happen?

[@scratchpenny]

What church?

[@CentseiSam]

Just another way they cheated