Tom Brady's contract extension with the Patriots, signed earlier this offseason, was structured in such a way that he wouldn't lose a large percentage of the money owed to him if his suspension was reinstated.
Though it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that Brady plays in Week 1, now that we know his four-game suspension has been reinstated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, it's worth taking a look at just how he'll be impacted financially.
As part of Brady's deal, he converted $9 million in base salary for the 2016 season into a signing bonus and $1 million in base salary. Therefore, if Brady misses out on four game checks, he'll give up $235,941.17 instead of the $2.11 million he would have been docked had his previous deal still been in place, according to Pro Football Talk.
With Brady continuing to perform as an MVP-caliber quarterback, it made sense for the Patriots to sign him through 2019 despite the fact that he'll be 39 years old at the start of this season.
Given that the salary-cap savings afforded the Patriots by Brady's extension are relatively negligible, keeping him in-house appears to have been the primary motivation for his new deal. That his bank account was somewhat protected with a four-game suspension still looming over his head seems to have been a nice side benefit, though.