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The New England Patriots’ spending habits have always been a point of question among fans. A narrative that has lingered in the Bill Belichick era is that the team rarely pays big money to get or keep marquee free agents.
Well, Belichick voiced similar concerns at his end-of-the-year press conference when delving into the Patriots’ recent spending history.
“Our spending in 2020, our spending in 2021 and our spending in 2022 — the aggregate of that — was we were 27th in the league in cash spending,” Belichick said. “So a couple years were low, one year was high, but over a three-year period, we’re one of the lowest-spending teams in the league.
“Had we averaged that out in those three years, you would have had the same numbers. So whether it’s two low and one high, two medium or three mediums, or two sort of high and one really low — whatever it is — there’s an average that comes. That’s the three-year average. We’re 27th in the league in cash spending.”
Belichick’s comments came after the Patriots lost their season finale against the Buffalo Bills and failed to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.
His comments led to Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard doing a follow-up with owner Robert Kraft, who reportedly pushed back on the notion that spending was an issue for the Patriots organization.
“So I asked Robert about Bill Belichick’s comments, about how they’re one of the lowest cash-spending teams in the league,” Bedard said on NBC Sports Boston’s “Early Edition”. “And a lot of fans took that as a little bit of a shot at ownership, that the Krafts aren’t willing to spend for this team. And I asked Robert about that, and I just want to quote him accurately.
“He says, ‘He has never come to me and not gotten everything he wanted from a cash-spending perspective. We have never set limits.’ And he further went on to say, ‘Money spending will never be the issue, I promise you, or I’ll sell the team.’ So that’s pretty definitive.”
The Patriots currently sit at $14,145,985 in cap space, per Miguel Benzan of Pats Cap.
They are rumored to be in the running for five-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Running back Dalvin Cook is also a free agent that could give the offense a major boost.
If the Patriots end up missing out on the two stars, particularly when they’re in a position to facilitate a deal with one or even both veterans, it could make the spending conversation a far more contentious topic.
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