The NFL transactions report had only one insignificant listing Friday: The Cowboys signed kicker Chris Naggar.
That means Tom Brady remains on the Buccaneers’ roster, three days after announcing his retirement.
The team can place Brady on the reserve/retired list or release him depending on what the sides work out. Tony Romo, for instance, requested his release from the Cowboys, who relinquished rights to him by cutting him in 2017. That allowed Romo an easier return to the NFL if he had ever wanted to come back from retirement.
Since he has another year on his contract, Brady’s rights will remain with the Bucs if the team places him on the reserve/retired list. (His deal also calls for void years in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for salary-cap purposes.)
The Bucs owed Brady a payment of $15 million in deferred signing bonus money Friday, but he technically owes the team $16 million in signing bonus money paid to him that he didn’t earn. General Manager Jason Licht said Tuesday he was working with Brady’s representation to come to an agreement.
“That’s really a moot point,” Licht said. “We’ve been talking with Tom’s agents. We have a great relationship with Don Yee and Steve Dubin and we’ve been talking about that. That’s really a moot point, and we knew that if we were in this scenario that we would be able to work that out. Besides, I don’t like to talk about contracts publicly, but we’ll be able to work that out.”