David J. Phillip/AP
Though his suspension was overturned last year, if the current ruling stands, Brady has wisely prepared for the scenario.
At the start of the new league year in March, Brady and the Patriots came to a new contract agreement. Brady made a bold move to reduce his base salary from $9 million in 2016 to $1 million. For an NFL player with 10 or more years of experience, the minimum salary is $985,000 per year. Brady nearly took the lowest yearly figure possible, while recouping much of the money with a $28 million, guaranteed signing bonus.
Suspended players lose a prorated amount of their base salary for each game missed. As Boston Globe's Ben Volin noted at the time of Brady's new deal, it will save him tons of money in case of a suspension.
With his new contract, Brady will save himself almost $2 million if he ends up serving a 4-game suspension pic.twitter.com/4h7B16JYyq
- Ben Volin (@BenVolin) March 10, 2016