One retired — sort of — for 40 days. The other threatened it for months, if not years. In the end, however, the NFL’s two middle-aged star quarterbacks are back and their contracts for 2022 make their motivations clear.
For Tom Brady, 44, and Aaron Rodgers, 38, this is about the Super Bowl and little else.
Brady will return to Tampa on a team-friendly deal he signed a year ago, costing the Buccaneers just $20.3 million (or 9.85 percent) against the salary cap. It ranks 13th among quarterbacks, just behind the Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford, who is owed $23 million a year after leading, not coincidentally, a balanced team to the Super Bowl.