smg93

“In terms of spending, you have to look where we are at the end of the season, not the beginning,”

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/pat...ticleid=180801

There you go. Please no more "kraft is cheap" threads.

Miguel

I wish that the Herald reporters would ask the Krafts if he is including giving Troy Brown a $350,000 LTBE incentive, Dan Koppen a $1.927 million LTBE incentive for playing on special teams, and Antwain Spann a $2,913,410 LTBE incentive as part of Patriots' spending to the cap.

It is a fair question to ask even if you, like me, do not believe that the Krafts are cheap.

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DarrylS

I saw the comments, looks as though many still believe that Kraft is cheap.. last I heard the Pats spent over the cap and will suffer a penalty in '07. The Boston press have to realize that Mr. Kraft will do anything he can to bring the Trophy back.

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bosfan

The headline reads 'promises to spend to the salary cap'. Now what does that infer, that they haven't done this previously? Why didn't it read 'promises to continue to spend to the salary cap'? I emailed the author of the article with the same question, if he responds I'll let you know.

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DefenseRules

You know, there were several other teams in the league who didn't spend to the cap in 2006. Why doesn't anyone throw them under the bus?

Ghost of Ben Dreith

I think you are being a bit nitpicky here. The two items I believe the column spoke to is that the team will spend money to the cap and that Kraft does not control the spending. This same type of topic has come up in previous years and the response was always the same. We fans need to quit believing what the lying arseclowns in the Boston press writes to stir up things and trust in the Pats management.

Get ready too for the next wave of cheap accusations after this off-season. We all know some people will just not let go of this topic. Like night follows day.

upstater1

I agree that's a fair question BUT presumably at some future point they'll be in the same difficulties that they were in when they signed Brady and had to cut people with bigger contracts. I'm sure the last thing Belichick wanted to do was get rid of Milloy that year, but he simply wanted the contract # down.

Eventually, those incentives will be used up instead of carried over year to year.

So what are we talking about here? $5 million tops? I actually believe it's lower since I can easily see a bit of those incentives being real (i.e. Troy getting paid).

I'm on a committee that's in charge of a budget. Usually, we scramble to fit everything in, and we always need money. A couple years ago, we were flush with new cash because of the sale of a windfarm. At the end of the year, we were criticized for not spending all the money available to us because whatever is left goes into a general fund out of our control. We simply felt we couldn't justify spending money just to spend it, even though it meant Money not Spent is Money Lost to our department. If anyone has had a significant budget increase, they can tell you it takes a bit to get adjusted to the new parameters. In the Patriots case, ramping contracts up by 15 to 20% instantly could throw the whole payroll out of whack. Samuel would get more money than Seymour, Brady would earn only 10% more than Samuel. You simply can't do that, you have to do it gradually to preserve unity. It's just like in a business with unions. If the workers come in at a lower entry level, and earn 3.5% raises yearly (which isn't even as common as it used to be) then eventually the market will surpass them, and you'll have entry level workers with 20 years less experience who are getting paid practically what the veterans are getting.

In the NFL, I just think the whole system is wacky. It's grossly unfair that Rodney Harrison could play all those years without the big payday, just because he wasn't drafted high, and then you get a complete bust who comes in and makes money for a lifetime, all because of his draft position.

I'm a firm believer in pay for play. That's not the NFL system.

unoriginal

Troy getting paid was real, but not the big LTBE. He was also given a $50,000 signing bonus. (maybe it was $30,000, I can't remember, the point is he basically got a nice free car)

It's not the NFL system, true, but in large part you have to talk to the NFLPA about that, as they are the ones who it seems are pushing for high "star" contracts, to the detriment of the rest of the roster. Also they are about creating security and guarantees for as many clients as possible, and those by nature are forward-looking, not based on past performance.

Of course, its not all one-way. For example, the NFL does have that program that awards significant cash bonuses to players substantially outperforming their rookie contracts.

upstater1

My problem is simply with the rookie contracts coming out of the draft. I think those are really ridiculous. The disparity between what Marques Coltson is going to make over his career versus say, what Roddy White or Troy Williamson will make is too substantial. 7th round stud versus 1st round bust. Who makes more money?

Brarrell

Lets face it this in my mind isn't about spending to the cap. They should be doing that without question as the 2nd or 3rd richest franchise in the league and the highest ticket prices in the NFL and waiting list for the season tickets. What happen this year IMO was mismanagement of the off season in which they did nothing and in the end with a little more quality on the roster they probably would be playing tomorrow. It came down to making one first down to go to the SB with a team which was as talented as it could have been. It just shows how good BB really is. He is truly the best coach in the league its not even close. We know they will spend to the cap the real question is will Kraft shell out the bonus money that is the real question and thats what these reporters should be asking.