Tom Brady hasn’t been retired a month yet and already there are murmurs in the sports ether: the Bucs should tank the 2023 season. It is an all-too common pattern. A NFL team loses their star quarterback, so it’s time to tear it all down.
However, back in the real world, the Bucs are preparing to do anything but tank. In fact, they are not in a great position to have the massive sell-off of assets typically associated with tanking.
Yes, the Bucs are $56 million over the 2023 salary cap, thanks to cap moves made to extend their Super Bowl window. This massive cap bill is actually a major reason why a sell-off cannot happen.
In order to keep the championship window open, the Bucs borrowed significant capital against future years, restructuring salaries into bonuses and adding void years on numerous contracts. In addition to squeezing Tampa’s cap space, this created a massive reserve of potential dead money which, when the notion of trading players is broached, comes with deal-killing consequences.
(AP Photo/Alex Menendez)
Take wide receiver Mike Evans for example. He is currently making most “most likely to be dealt” lists in NFL media, which does not make much sense considering the Bucs would eat $21.4 million in dead cap in 2023 while saving just $2.3 million.
This is the case with many of the Bucs’ highest-paid players. Trading WR Chris Godwin, linebacker Shaq Barrett, defensive tackle Vita Vea or center Ryan Jensen would each incur a minimum of $10 million in dead money hits against the 2023 salary cap.
In fact, trading or cutting the Bucs top-10 highest paid players would get the Bucs to just $9.8 million under the salary cap, leaving Tampa without its top three wide receivers, three-fifths of the offensive line, its best defensive lineman, its best pass rusher, its only starting cornerback.
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This isn’t going to happen. Instead, the only sensible option is to extend and restructure many of Tampa’s most expensive contracts. Evans is the most likely to be extended as the longest tenured player on offense and easily the most consistent and reliable, notching his ninth consecutive 1000-yard season.
Guard Shaq Mason could also be extended. He was the Bucs’ only offensive lineman to play every snap in 2022 and was second only to All-Pro Tristan Wirfs in the quality and consistency of his play.
Barrett and Vea are obvious candidates for restructures. Barrett is coming off an Achilles tear, making him a…
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