—I’ve always said, whatever drama leaks out of Gillette Stadium, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will always be on the same page about one thing: they both want to win. I don’t even think that’s debatable. Brady and Belichick both have the same goal this season. They both want to win Super Bowl LIII.
So when new details of Brady’s contract were reported last week, at first glance, it would seem blasphemous to make the reigning, defending NFL MVP to play for incentives. We all know the sports-radio hosts and columnists who will play up the word “incentives” in Brady’s contract and try to use that as another way to portray a rift in Foxboro between Brady and Belichick.
Well, before we do anything, let’s take a look at those reported incentives that are in Brady’s contract for 2018. There are five separate $1 million incentives. Brady will receive an extra $1 million if he finishes the year top five in the NFL in completion percentage. He’ll receive an extra $1 million if he finishes top five in the NFL in yards-per-attempt. He’ll receive an extra $1 million if he finishes top five in the NFL in QB rating. He’ll receive an extra $1 million if he finishes top five in the NFL in passing yards. And he’ll receive an extra $1 million if he finishes top five in the NFL in TD passes.
It’s realistic that Brady accomplishes all five and will earn an extra $5 million, on top of the $15 million he’ll already be making in 2018. There’s another detail though. If the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII, then each of those “top five” incentives increase to $2 million. However, Brady cannot make more than $5 million in total incentives in 2018. However you want to break it down, Brady is going to make more than $15 million this season. To that, some will ask, “Why not just restructure Brady’s contract and guarantee that he sees more than $15 million? Why make him play for it?”
I don’t know. Something tells me that Brady is on board with continuing to challenge himself at the age of 41. And these aren’t impossible challenges. They are extremely realistic. And the incentive money he can make is capped at $5 million, so it’s not like it’s an overwhelming prize for having a great season. But it’s a challenge nonetheless. And it’s a challenge that everyone in the Patriots organization can benefit from. Brady can benefit from challenging himself to stay at the top of his game, now that Jimmy Garoppolo’s presence can no longer push him. And the Patriots can benefit from their 41-year-old quarterback staying motivated.
Look, Brady is going to be motivated, regardless. But I have a tough time believing that the Patriots just threw these five specific incentives together and forced them upon Brady. I’m willing to bet both sides are on the same page with these incentives. And all I know is, these incentives can only help.
—Here we go again with Tiger Woods. He finished second in the PGA Championship at 14-under on the tournament after shooting a 64 on Sunday while donning the championship red.
Only, it was Brooks Koepka who won the tournament at 16-under. Even the biggest Woods haters, like myself, can’t deny that Woods was the main attraction of the weekend. The sport is better when he’s involved. It’s even better than that when he’s in contention on Sunday. Ok, fine. But, so what? Why does that mean I have to root for him on Sunday? We’ve already gone over this. I root for Woods to be in contention on Sunday, and then I root for the other guy. “Root” is a strong word here, as I wasn’t really jumping off my seat yelling “Let’s go Koepka!” But you get the point.
I don’t have to root for Woods. And I’m tired of people telling me I do. I don’t tell you that you have to root for LeBron James. I tell you to stop betting against him, but I never ask, “How can you not root for LeBron?” I mean, if you really want to compare the two, I’ll point out that I’ve never seen James behind the wheel of a car while high as a lab rat.
Anyways, James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. But every year, all people do is root against him. I root against him when he’s playing the Celtics, but that’s it. Any other time, I find myself hoping that he wins another championship. But if you don’t want to see him win, then that’s your right as a fan. And it’s my right as a fan to not want to see Woods win.
So get off my back.
Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com. Also available on iTunes, Tunein, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Spotify. Subscribe to his YouTube channel at youtube.com/dannypicard.
