Julian Edelman has landed his payday. His quarterback, however, is still waiting.
The New England Patriots wide receiver agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract extension Tuesday, NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran confirmed Tuesday.
The deal means Edelman, who turns 33 on Wednesday, is locked up through his age-35 season and in theory could retire a Patriot after the 2021 campaign.
But what about Tom Brady? The Patriots quarterback also has no designs on leaving New England and hopes to play until 45, an age he'd reach in 2022.
Like Edelman in 2017, Brady signed a restructured contract in 2018 worth $30 million that kept him under team control until 2019. Unlike Edelman, the six-time Super Bowl champion (who shares Edelman's agent, Don Yee) doesn't have an extension in the works as of Tuesday.
Brady has never entered a season while in the "walk year" of his contract, so it would be unprecedented if he and the Patriots don't agree to new contract terms this summer. Now that New England has locked up Brady's No. 1 target, there's seemingly more pressure on the Patriots to iron out the QB's contract situation before they mount their title defense.
Don't hold your breath on another restructured deal, though: When asked back in January about Brady's contract situation, team president Jonathan Kraft responded, "Let's see what happens when training camp starts (in July)."
New England Patriots
Brady just restructured his contract last year, so if the Patriots want to ensure he stays until age 45, they could have Brady play out the final year of his contract this season and sign a two-year deal next offseason through 2022.
But if they want to get ahead of things, Edelman's contract represents a blueprint to do so.
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