how do the patriots pay all these 'good' players?

Question

i was thinking when some NFL analyst said the pats didn't care about a Super Bowl they want to go undefeated, because all those players have the multiple Bowl wins from those recent years.....so they have these guys Vrabel, Welker, Thomas, Moss, Brady, Bruschi, and talk of the entire Offensive line being great....how do they stay under this salary cap with all those heavy weights? when do some of the contracts come up, because naturally they usually want morre money

Answer 1

They pay in cash, under the table

Answer 2

At the end of the 2001 season, Tom Brady was a free agent. After 3 years in the NFL, he had won a superbowl. He could have gotten anything he wanted with another team. But, Tom accepted less than he's worth, because he wanted to leave room in the salary cap for other good players. A good example is Randy Moss, who turned down more money to play for the Pats and win a superbowl.

Some Pats players leave for more money. The ones that stay don't make as much money as they could, but they play for a winner. After the Pats go 19-0, they'll pick up more free agents, who are willing to play for less money, but want to play for the superbowl winner, which of course is the Pats.

The secret to the Pats success is Tom Brady. He's set the example for the team, he's not greedy, and neither are his team mates.

It's as simple as that.

Answer 3

SERIOUS ANSWER, NOT PATS-BASHING:

The Pats don't go for the big superstar guys. They go after guys who have been in the league a while, who can, as Bill says, "do a lot of things well."

I mean look at the plays the Pats run, look at the players they have. vrabel catching TD passes, Moss blocking on run plays, etc. The guys they have look like they should be all washed up, but in this Patrtiots lineup they look like football Gods. That's because they coached magnificently.

Also, guys don't really care about the money after a certain amount of time playing football. They start to care about winning and how the game is played, and less about themselves, and bank accounts. I mean Randy Moss took a HUGE paycut to come here, playing on losing teams for years, always being a smug jerk, seemingly. Now look at him, everytime you see him he's got a huge smile on and he's playing his guts out.

Answer 4

MANY players, including Brady, have had their contracts adjusted down to accommodate new players. Guys like Moss took pay cuts to play on the team.

The Patriots really are a team. They deserve the respect of the league because they do things right. Go ahead and listen to the haters if you want, but this team has SO many things going for it that the rest of the league will NEVER have.

Bottom line, the Pats are widely respected by KNOWLEDGEABLE football people because they do things right. Managing the salary cap is just one.

and by the way, this is not arrogant, it is just true.

Answer 5

Alot of players have taken a pay cut to play for the PATS. The most recent example is Randy Moss, he allowed a restructuring of his contract when he was traded to come to the PATS. Just like the RED SOX players take pay cuts to come / stay there. Must be a New England thing.

BTW: "bigbluehippo": There's a salary cap in football doofus. The Yankees overpay by millions to get players, the PATRIOTS don't have the ability to do that because of the salary cap. Also, the Yankees suck.

Answer 6

They want smart football players that want to win and will sacrifice a big pay-day to do so .They couldve paid big money to keep Vinatieri ,Branch, Givens , Milloy, Law , McGinist, but why they knew they could only be a big factor in their system let some other team pay them , and they are . And what have they done for those teams since leaving the Patriots besides Vinatieri he won a Super Bowl with Indy .

Answer 7

Players choose to take less so they can keep a high talent level (exception Seymour's contract) and have a respectable chance of winning a Superbowl each year. Get paid at someother team early, then come to the Patriots as a season vet and take a discount but get your SB ring. Sounds like a good deal.

Answer 8

who said they dont care about super bowl? thats the whole point of playing...the undefeated thing would jsut be icing.....whoever said that clearly does not get the Pats organization......and the way they stay under salary cap is they get rid of players who demand too much money....well except for brady i guess...but they trade them....they are very good at working the salary cap.... bet some of our stars end up on other teams next year......they all know the deal...this is a business......gosh i am still mad at the analyst who said that about them not caring aobut super bowl....oy!

Answer 9

Uh...Because the Pats are the epitome of unselfish players...They play more for the Super Bowls than they do for the money...Case and point, Randy Moss came to the Pats for less money...He took a pay CUT to go to a Super Bowl contender...

Answer 10

Some of the players, like Moss and Stallworth, were traded for and the pat's then don't have to pay the signing bonus. That will keep you under.

Answer 11

Not only do their "stars" take cuts in their salaries, has anybody seen their second string players? They're a disaster pretty much everywhere but WR. If they had a couple injuries on their O-line they'd be hosed.