Bedard: If Tom Brady isn't happy with his contract, he has only himself to blame

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — We still don't know the details on Tom Brady's contract "extension" and they might not be known for a couple of days.

What we do know is a few details have been released that mention things like voidable years, and Brady perhaps becoming a free agent to start the 2020 league year.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1158441849075298305

https://twitter.com/corryjoel/status/1158454300294569984

We'll get those things in a second.

Let's first deal with what we know after Brady addressed the media following Monday's joint practice session with the Lions: Brady doesn't seem particularly pleased with his deal. His reaction was basically, "Whatever ... I got a little bit of a raise, I agreed to the structure to help the team, we'll see what happens after this season."

That's paraphrasing Brady. His actual quotes weren't that far off:

"The focus is this year and what we've got to do. That's where I'm focused. That's all that really matters in the end."

"Football is a tough business. It's a production business. I'm ready to go this year and that's really what matters. That's where my focus is. It's a unique situation I'm in. I'm in my 20th year with the same team. I'm 42 years old, so pretty much uncharted territory I think for everybody. I'm going to go out there and do the best I can this year and see what happens."

"I'm really not worried about it. I'm secure for this year, I think. At least I get a few first-team reps out there. I just go out there and try to do the best I can."

"It is what it is. That's a good line. Whoever said it, it's very pertinent. Like I said, there's a lot of guys who have one year left on their contract. I've got one year to go and we'll see what happens."

Uh...

Brady's attitude toward his contract can basically be summed up with, "It is what it is ...I've got one year to go and we'll see what happens."

My reaction to Brady's apparent discontent with his contract is this:

- What did you expect? You're 42-years-old.
- You have all the power in this negotiation, you could hold the Patriots over a barrel if you wanted to and you chose not to. Why is that anyone's problem but your own?

Look, I get it and I've chronicled it for years — Brady thinks that because of what he's sacrificed in terms of money and family, in addition to how's covered up the weaknesses on this roster for years (maybe even more so this year — Jakobi Meyers, Braxton Berrios, N'Keal Harry and Ben Watson ... really?), that he should be showed just a little loyalty by the Patriots in terms of real money that makes Brady the quarterback of this team as long as he desires. It started with Jimmy Garoppolo and has continued after he was traded away now in his contract "extension."

I get that and I've always gotten that. Brady is not wrong to feel that way. What he's done for this franchise has been priceless in more ways than one.

But the Patriots are also a business, one that wants to keep running on all cylinders after Brady is gone (Belichick too). That's the mark of a truly legendary franchise.

And there is no business that invests heavily in a depreciating asset, and that's what Brady now is. Doesn't mean he can't win or he's not great, he's just not likely going to match 2017 ever again in terms of his worth compared to the rest of the league.

Did Brady expect the team to hand him a lucrative contract extension until he was 45? If he did, he was being delusional. Or naive. Or both.

And that's where I take issue with Brady.

If he wanted to be shown loyalty in his contract, he should have held the team's feet to the fire. They needed his $27-million cap number to go down for flexibility. Brady should have said, I'm not doing it unless you invest in me for the next two years. Outside of that, my contract stays where it is and I'll be a free agent after this season and you can bid like everyone else.

But Brady did what he always does ... the Krafts came to him and told Brady he needed to do this to help them win a title this year. They and he know he's not going to pack up and move at this point in his career. Brady is not a prima donna like Brett Favre. He doesn't have an injury like Peyton Manning and Joe Montana. Brady knows full well how it would reflect on him if he just left to play for another team. And the Patriots know that as well, and also that it would reflect poorly on them.

So they are stuck with each other. Brady started this ball rolling in 2012 when he agreed to take a cut-rate to finish out his career with the Patriots and winning games. He can't suddenly go back on that now.

The structure of this deal means there's no going back. The Patriots will have another proration ($13.5 million) to deal with next year when, inevitably, they configure another deal. So say Brady wants $25 million in cash next season (still way low) ... his cap could be $38.5 million. Basically, now they're a cap-poor team like the Saints with Drew Brees. They can keep kicking that proration down the road, but at some point it's going to hit and hit hard.

Or, if Brady retires, that $13.5 million goes on their cap for the 2020 season — without Brady.

So Brady can be disgruntled all he wants. It doesn't change the fact that he decided to OK this deal, and not force the Patriots to commit to him.

It is what it is.