Tom Brady's final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -and the NFL- is now in the books after the seven-time Super Bowl champ announced his retirement Wednesday morning.

His run with both the New England Patriots and the Buccaneers is one that will never be repeated.

And, more specifically, Brady's run with the Buccaneers, is one that will always be remembered by fans of the pewter and red.

But, leaving behind a Lombardi Trophy, two division titles, and a plethora of great memories isn't enough.

Brady needs to do the Buccaneers one last favor: help the Buccaneers' dreadful salary cap situation.

He's already helped out by retiring. Brady's retirement allows the Buccaneers to push $20+ million of his dead cap hit into the 2024 season. The Buccaneers were initially on hook for $35+ million if Brady signed elsewhere. But, since he retired, things are vastly different.

Per Over The Cap, Brady's 2023 cap hit is $10.776 million if the team cuts him after June 1. The remaining $24.328 million counts against the cap in 2024.

But, wait: How can the Buccaneers cut Brady after June 1 if he's set up to become a free agent this offseason?

Former player agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry explained how to do just that in a recent column:

"Brady and the Buccaneers would need to modify his contract so his dummy/voiding 2023 contract year is turned into a real contract year with his league minimum $1.165 million base salary as compensation. The voiding date for the 2024 through 2026 contract years could be pushed back from the last day of the 2022 league year (March 15) to the last day of the 2023 league year, or those three years could be turned into real contract years instead.

The Buccaneers would carry Brady with his new $11.941 million 2023 cap number until June 2 when his retirement would be processed and his $1.165 million base salary would come off the books. By waiting until June 2, the Buccaneers would be able to split the $35.104 million of dead money into $10.776 million in 2023 and $24.328 million in 2024. The $8 million of 2021 roster bonus proration from 2024 and 2025, the $8 million in signing bonus proration relating to 2024 and 2025, as well as the $8.328 million of 2022 roster bonus proration attributed to 2024 through 2026, wouldn't hit Tampa Bay's salary cap until 2024."

This is tremendous news for a team that was -$55 million OVER the cap before Brady's decision to retire. Obviously, a big chunk of that belonged to Brady. So, now, the Buccaneers should be closer to -$30ish million when it comes to their debts.

As long as Brady is up to work with the Buccaneers, of course. Which he should, but as we know, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Brady and his retirement decisions.

Brady has a great relationship with not just the players, but a lot of other key members of the franchise, including the people who own the Buccaneers in the Glazer family.

Potentially wiping out nearly half of the Buccaneers' 2023 debts is a great parting gift from Brady. As if he owed the franchise anything, in the first place. Doing this puts the team in a much, much better position to remain competitive in 2023. And, it gives general manager Jason Licht, Mike Greenberg and co. another year to figure out how to deal with the bulk of Brady's bill.

There is one major sacrifice in this scenario and it's the fact that if Brady goes through with the idea, then that means he's retired for good. This doesn't happen if un-retires then signs elsewhere. Re-signing with the Buccaneers is a different story in itself, but in terms of playing for other teams, modifying his contract like this means he's done for good.

Either way, the Buccaneers and Brady are very likely done. It's just a matter of how expensive the dissolution is going to be.

Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports