Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got eliminated in the NFC Divisional Round by the Los Angeles Rams. This cost Brady the 2021 season and also a lot of money.
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Tom Brady and Buccaneers were rolling in the 2021 NFL season and clinched the #2 seed in the NFC side of the playoffs. Due to the new rule change, they were not awarded a bye and had to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round.
Tom Brady waiting for Julio to walk through them doors tomorrow. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/GMJdRXugBM
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) July 26, 2022
The Los Angeles Rams traded for Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions prior to the 2021 NFL season. Stafford proved that he was worth the trade by leading the Rams to the 4th seed in the NFC. He also later won them the Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers easily dispatched of the Eagles and moved onto face the Los Angeles Rams in Tampa Bay. The game was one sided until the fourth quarter when the Buccaneers made a huge comeback, coming all the way back from 27-3. It seemed like Brady was about to work his magic and win once again.
With the score all tied up, late in the fourth quarter, Cooper Kupp showed up to the party and got open for two ridiculous catches. These plays put the Rams in field goal position and secured a NFC Championship appearance.
Brady’s disappointing loss in the playoffs was hard enough without bringing money into the picture. However, Brady did lose quite a bit of money through incentives for not making it to the trophy game.
Contract incentives for Tom Brady cost him $1.5 million
NFL contracts are worth huge amounts of money, especially for key players. Players like Tom Brady, who have ruled the sport for a while, have many lucrative incentives in their contract.
For example, these incentives can be for winning a certain number of games, advancing in the playoffs, or certain personal statistics. In this case, Brady fell short by not achieving playoff success that was so close.
COOPER KUPP 70 YARD TD CATCH 👀
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/04OgKf1zMD— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2022
Brady had $500,000 incentivized in his contract for winning the NFC Divisional Round which he ultimately lost to the Rams. This prevented him from earning another $500,000 for winning the NFC Championship Round and $500,000 for winning the Super Bowl.
With Brady’s career earnings and sponsorship deals, this is not a huge amount for him. After all, Tom Brady has a net worth of $250 million. But it must hurt to know that a lot of money was so close yet so far for Brady.