Buccaneers: How you can keep this team together

Pay those Buccaneers who deserve a raise

Yes, some people need a big paycheck: Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, for instance, probably deserve more money than they are making right now. But others may be able to restructure their earnings, keeping lots of money, but chipping into the pot of gold to allow the mighty cap gurus that the Bucs have to redistribute it in a manner that is good for all.

So, maybe this year, some of the players think, “If I only take 15 million and not the 20 million I am contracted for, I could free up another 5 million toward the cap. And maybe many people on the team could do likewise. Even Tom Brady has made deals to free up cap space.

Brady has been one of the shining examples of a player that has taken far less than he was owed, and the Patriots benefited from this for the better part of 20 years. The same thing could happen in Tampa this year, but perhaps on a larger scale.

The question really boils down to a simple choice: take a big payout or take another ride on the Brady-Bucs roller coaster to 2022. In the world of NFL football, money and specifically contracts, get to the point where you’re dealing with amounts that are more common on a Monopoly game.

So, what choice would you make? Is it worth paring down a bit on your salary for another optimal shot at the grand goose of all pigskindom? I’m sure there are many out there who would love to follow that path.