Tom Brady continues to insist he wants to play into his mid-40s, and the quarterback with the most Super Bowl starts is about to enter a contract year.

Robert Kraft sees the Patriots retaining the all-time great past 2019 and does not have an issue with extending the 41-year-old passer’s contract beyond next season, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

“I would be quite surprised if he didn’t continue for quite awhile as our quarterback,” Kraft said.

Negotiations may begin soon. Brady has never played into a contract year and is set to carry a $27MM cap figure on the Patriots’ 2019 balance sheet. He said recently there is a “zero” percent chance he retires after Super Bowl LIII.

After staying away from the Patriots for most of the offseason, Brady returned for a 19th season and again is set for a Super Bowl start. With the Patriots no longer having an heir apparent on the roster, another Brady re-up makes sense. He and Bill Belichick are in their ninth Super Bowl together, and Kraft is certainly OK with this ultra-successful tandem continuing their voyage into uncharted waters.

“Having two outstanding people like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady for almost two decades, pretty proud of that,” Kraft said, via Volin. “I think we’re very lucky.”

The Patriots have managed to employ Brady on some below-market deals over the past several years. They did add some incentives to his 2018 deal. While he missed out on the statistical portion of this $5MM package due to a slight drop in his numbers from his 2017 MVP season, Brady can earn $2MM by leading the Pats to their sixth championship on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.