We knew the Tampa Bay Buccaneers future was going to be tough, especially after Tom Brady filed his retirement papers with the league on Friday. Retiring before June 1, 2023, makes the Buccaneers fully liable – and unable to do anything – with his cap hit. That puts the team around $55M over the salary cap, with a boatload of pending free agents.
After the culmination of Super Bowl 57, the odds for Super Bowl 58 were released, which isn’t pretty. The Buccaneers saw themselves in a few different positions before the NFL Draft because Brady had a 40-day retirement. However, after he announced his return, the Buccaneers jumped from being just outside the Top 10 back into the 2nd favorited position to win the Super Bowl. Of course, we know how the season ended in Tampa.
So, where do the Buccaneers stand in the NFL Future prop bet for Super Bowl 58? According to BetOnline.ag, the Bucs come in at +5000, which plants them firmly in the 23rd position. If you are one of those “salary cap is smoke and mirrors” people, you could get an excellent return on your wager if you believe that Jason Licht will clear all of the cap space and sign a significant starting quarterback. In all seriousness, there is definitely a “wait and see” approach as the Buccaneers trek the waters during the offseason. With a lot of moving pieces in play, this may have been the end for some familiar faces within the organization; I won’t begin to speculate who that may be, just yet.
As it stands, Todd Bowles has just one quarterback rostered, and Kyle Trask has given us an underwhelming preview of what to expect, if you’ve watched him throughout
both years in training camp and preseason. Being financially strapped, and having an unproven quarterback on your roster could bring Buccaneers back to a reality of missing the playoffs once again. If you’re looking for the silver lining, Brady’s cap hit drops to $10M in the
following season, making the potential down-period a short lived one. Or, it could be “Trask to the Future.”