What a new Brady contract would mean

Tom Brady and Robert Kraft. (AP)

A new contract for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would have a ripple effect across the National Football League like few other deals in modern history. Here’s a look at what it would mean to the most interested parties:

•Tom Brady: The Boston Herald is reporting that the current deal on the table, which would kick in for the 2011 season, following the final year of his current six-year, $60 million deal that runs through this year, is for three years and $58 million deal. If that report is accurate, it’s a win-win situation for both the quarterback and the team.

The deal the quarterback signed in 2005 was a good one that put him in the upper echelon among his contemporaries. However, it was consistent with the Patriots’ traditional team-building technique — team-friendly enough that it didn’t hamstring the Patriots in their attempts to bring in new players. (Brady would also show a willingness to rework his deal to allow for pricey new acquisitions like Randy Moss.) With a labor showdown looming, no one is sure what the future holds for the NFL’s salary structure. But at first glance, it appears that this is a deal that will allow each side to claim a certain measure of victory.

•Logan Mankins: The Pro Bowl left guard isn’t foolish— he understands the importance of Brady to the franchise. But Mankins, who is currently locked in a contract stalemate with the team that doesn’t look like it’s going to get resolved anytime soon, can’t be happy. It doesn’t matter who the contract is going to — even someone like Brady — Mankins (and his agent Frank Bauer) probably aren’t thrilled that the Patriots are handing out a deal worth a reported $58 million while the lineman sits at home waiting for some movement on his own contract.

•Randy Moss: The wide receiver is extremely smart and very close with Brady. As a result, there’s an excellent chance he knew about Brady’s deal almost being done when he spoke with CBS Sports about his own expiring contract on Monday evening. Would the Patriots decide to bring back Moss? Even with the receiver’s new representation, it doesn’t seem like something that would get done this season. But with Brady’s deal apparently nearing completion, if the Patriots are interested in bringing Moss back, he certainly moves closer to the top of the priority list.

•Peyton Manning: Brady and the Indianapolis quarterback use each other as a barometer all the time, and this contract will be no different. In fact, Manning (who is heading into the final year of his contract) and the Colts’ front office now have a framework from which to operate when it comes to working out his new deal. In fact, the Brady deal could be the first domino in a series of contracts for veteran quarterbacks like Manning, Drew Brees and Donovan McNabb, all of whom have deals that are going to be coming up within the next year or so.

•Robert Kraft: The Patriots’ owner gets the best of both worlds — he’s sidestepped a potential landmine and and signed his marquee quarterback to a deal that will expire when Brady is in his late 30s. And if the report of $58 million is accurate, it’s a certainly a contract that could be described as player-friendly and more than reasonable for a player of Brady’s caliber.