The NFL's legal tampering period for free agents was to begin at 11:59 a.m. ET on Monday and players can officially sign with teams at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. What the end of that tampering period means is that teams lose exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents. And there is no
Brady will count against the Patriots' salary cap for $13.5 million this season if he doesn't have a new contract by that 4 p.m. ET Wednesday deadline with the Pats or even if he signs elsewhere. There are reports out of Boston that Brady is down to the Patriots and Bucs. Tampa Bay certainly offers much better receiving options with Pro Bowlers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Tennessee was once among the betting favorites for Brady but is no longer an option with the Titans re-signing Ryan Tannehill. All those rumors of the San Francisco 49ers being interested apparently were only from Brady's camp. Former NFL QB Chris Simms reported that the Niners were Brady's top choice but that they weren't interested in dumping Jimmy Garoppolo for him.
William Hill has the Bucs as +200 favorites on the NFL futures odds with the Pats at +300 (these odds are going to be in flux plenty and vary depending on the book).
