New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is finally figuring out how the rest of the NFL lives.
After years of mocking other teams for splurging in free agency, the Patriots shelled out about $175 million in guaranteed money over a two-day span — nearly matching what Kraft paid to purchase the team in 1994.
But according to Kraft, there was some sort of hidden strategy attached to the Patriots spending almost $90 million on tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, and overpaying for wide receiver Nelson Agholor. Please.
“It’s like investing in the stock market,” Kraft told Peter King from NBC Sports. “You take advantage of corrections and inefficiencies in the market when you can, and that’s what we did here.”
With the NFL salary cap falling to $182.5 million, there’s no doubt fewer teams were in position to add big-name free agents. But let’s not act like the Patriots got good deals on their star-studded additions. They went on a historic spending spree. The numbers don’t add up.
Coming off a dreadful 7-9 campaign in 2020, the Patriots are just the sixth team to spend more than $100 million guaranteed during free agency. None of the previous five teams have won a playoff game the following season, and only two qualified for the playoffs.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. Bill Belichick’s free agent splurge wasn’t due to some sort of market correction; it was due to being without the greatest quarterback of all-time. As we saw, Tom Brady was the prevailing reason for New England’s 20-year run of excellence — not Bill Belichick, and certainly not Kraft’s beloved “Patriot Way.”
“In my 27 years as owner, I’ve never had to come up with so much capital before,” Kraft said. “Nothing is guaranteed, and I’m very cognizant of that. But we’re not in the business to be in business. We’re in this business to win.”
On the positive side, at least Kraft is aware of his hypocrisy. He also mentioned he’s “very cognizant” of the fact the Patriots used to make “fun of teams that spent a lot in the offseason.”
The Buffalo Bills have been one of those teams, spending the third-most in free agency from 2017-20. While there have been some hits — Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer — Buffalo’s two biggest additions came via trade and the NFL Draft. The first turning point came when the team selected quarterback Josh Allen No. 7 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and the second one arrived last March, when the Minnesota Vikings shipped Stefon Diggs to Orchard Park.
Most importantly, there’s been continuation on the coaching staff. Sean McDermott has established himself as one of the best coaches in the league. The Bills run an excellent operation.
That’s why they were able to land wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, whom they’ve targeted for a while, and re-sign every key piece of their nucleus. The ultimate endorsement came when quarterback Mitchell Trubisky signed a one-year to deal back up Allen. He’s counting on Brian Daboll to re-make his value.
Brandon Beane is an excellent general manager, but his savvy maneuverings aren’t the result of a secret plan. The Bills are a good team, and thus, are able to land players on discounts.
Conversely, the Patriots are not a good team, and must spend lavishly to attract talent.
Kraft can talk about “marketing inefficiencies” all he wants, but the Patriots were inefficient on the field last season. That’s the true reason New England spent big.
We know that story all too well.
Kraft says there was some sort of hidden strategy attached to the Patriots' free agency plans