Is it time for the Patriots to start spending some moolah? When new HC Jerod Mayo first stepped into the shoes of veteran coach Bill Belichick, he said, “We’re ready to burn some cash.” With $66 million in their wallets, the Patriots are armed with the third most cap space in the NFL this offseason. But history suggests the team may not be that good at spending it.
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If New England puts that cap space to good use, they can lure in some of the top talents from free agency, and even draft well starting with the No.3 overall pick. But the question is, are they willing to?
Over the past 10 years, the Patriots ranked last in cash spending ($1.62 billion), ranked 30th in spending in both 2020 and 2021, and were 31st in the league in cash spending in 2023. Those numbers are staggering for one of the top teams in the league.
According to a report by Mike Reiss of ESPN, the Patriots have been extremely frugal with their cash spending over the last decade, ranking at the bottom of the league. Despite some increased spending recently, they still failed to secure several key free agent targets, both domestic (like Jakobi Meyers) and foreign (such as DeAndre Hopkins). Patriots fans were obviously and understandably shook by this revelation as they took to social media to express their disappointment, with many calling for owner Robert Kraft to sell the team to someone willing to spend more,
Time to sell. Obviously spending is a issue since they’ve been at the bottom for a significant amount of time
— Ryan (@ryanj7800) February 9, 2024
It’s not that “it’s an issue that he can’t” rather it’s that he eschews doing so and rarely engages in it.
He frequently reminds us that they “run the Patriots the same way they run their other businesses”
The problem is that professional sports is not like any other business!— Jason – Bison Brewski F (@BisonBrewski) February 9, 2024
This team would shatter every record ever for the amount it would cost to buy
— Alex (@GoDawgs999) February 9, 2024
Robert Kraft Pushes Back on Spending Rumors
Owner Robert Kraft, however, was not going to stay silent. Talking to a group of reporters, Kraft seemingly threw Bill Belichick under the bus for the spending stats. Indicating that the owners were always ready to spend, but Belichick “ran a tight ship,’ he said,
“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending. Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true. Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship.”
Again reiterating Belichick’s habit of “understanding value,” he reassured fans that this will not be the same trajectory the team will be embarking on in the future,
“Our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted. I think Bill was always thinking about the future and really understood value. But we never held back with any of the coaches we’ve had over the last 30 years.”
Now that they have a new coach who’s willing to “burn some cash” and they have cap space and budget to prove themselves, it will be interesting to see if the Patriots dynasty will finally put their money where their mouth is.
