Amendola apparently bitter about time in New England:

He had the option to say no to a paycut and make more money elsewhere and not win. instead he chose to get rings for less pay. Stop acting like he was held here like a prisoner lmao

robertweathers said:

I really wish DA would just shut the hell up. Pro athletes complaining about their boss and contracts in the past and present is soooooo unbecoming.

I understand he has issues with his time in NE but there is nothing to be gained by his complaining and digs at the NEP/BB.

DA is better than this.

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More spoiled athletes than anyone really wants to admit. For 18 years, Tom Brady was the antithesis of this. There's far more out there like this, that are bitter about it after the fact.

I am not naïve enough to think that Bill isn't a pain in the azz. LT famously called him Doom. IMO, when LT says Bill is a great coach, he is almost resigned to have to say it. Bill is a giant pain.

A coach getting the most out of a player isn't always the most comfortable thing for the player. The modern athlete, for the most part, has had their azz kissed for their entire life. I am not saying that this is a the case with Amendola, merely that taking coaching from Bill would likely grate on anyone. Add another layer of feeling like he's getting eff'd in the contract negotiations, and I can see how this would be a negative experience. You'd essentially have two bosses, Bill the GM and Bill the coach. It would suck all the way around.

dreighver said:

I mean, Amendola gets to put those rings on his own fingers, too.

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Which he's forgetting. He could have left, and chased the money. Good point by @robertweathers above, it's a bad look and he should be above it.

From his perspective I'd feel the same way. But as a fan of the patriots I'd say he earned the cuts because he was basically robbing us at one point always being injured and just not producing for long stretches. From his production in the regular season there is no way to have known he would be so clutch in the playoffs. He was like the opposite of Peyton Manning lol.

To reiterate, produce in the regular season if you want to be paid big bucks. We paid him to give us Welker/Edelman production and he didn't even come close stat wise. It is what is. If we had made the playoffs and Harry came up with some big catches would we forget that he still mostly sucks over the course of a season? Is Eli Manning Worthy of the hof etc.

Sciz said:

Danny Woodhead said last summer that he didn't really mind that he didn't win a Super Bowl (with regards to the 2011 loss), while it sounds like Amendola doesn't really care that he did. At the end of the day, the increased wealth is going to affect most players' lives significantly more than the outcomes of the games.

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I believe it was Tony Gonzalez or some big time former NFL player that said the biggest myth in pro sports is that players want to "win". I believe him.

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

He is still playing at a fairly high level at 35. From 2018-20, he averaged about 600 yards and earned about $4.5M per year. Another three years too early is better than a year to late outcome for a team with the worst group of skill players in the NFL.

So before everyone calls out Amendola, let's remember this goes both ways. He took paycuts to remain in New England to win championships, play with Brady, and build a winning legacy, and the team then kicked him to the curb despite that he was still affordable and productive.

But I don't kow why he's negotating a contract by himself...get an agent.

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Amendola is an example of Belichick's method NOT working, but it's rare. Think about all the Dorsett types that have been through here making $2m but meanwhile you lose a WR who can actually play. Rather than the total waste of money of guys like Dorsett.

On the other hand, if you paid Chris Hogan what he got paid in FA, it would have been a bad decision.

You just have to evaluate. Amendola gets the money, Hogan and Dorsett don't.

I liked Danny and still do. But I won't cry a river for what any pro athlete makes.
Besides by staying here Danny got to meet a really hot woman and that added to his comp package.

robertweathers said:

I really wish DA would just shut the hell up. Pro athletes complaining about their boss and contracts in the past and present is soooooo unbecoming.

I understand he has issues with his time in NE but there is nothing to be gained by his complaining and digs at the NEP/BB.

DA is better than this.

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Nothing against DA but he could’ve asked for a trade or to be let go if it was that upsetting.

I can see DA's point. I do think BB's reputation among players will hurt the rebuild.

• If Amendola had to 'negotiate the contracts myself', then what was he paying his agent Erik Burkhart for?

• Amendola had a choice: he could pay for what the Patriots were offering, or choose to find another employer - just like the rest of us.

• It's a two-way street Danny: everyone else in the organization helped you get your rings too.

• The unsaid implication is that paying Amendola less equates to more money for the GM. It is not; it means more money available to spend on other players - which helped you get your rings, 'Dola.

• Gentle reminder: Amendola has been paid more than $36 million for playing in the NFL. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted and began his career on the practice squad.

LOL. In the September Pats opener I can see a repeat of week 1 in 2003 on the broadcast. Not necessarily a 31-0 beatdown but all through the broadcast the Belichick bashing was in full force. CBS had a panel of guys to rip Bill about how awful he was and lecture him that he needed to treat his players right. That was all coming off the Lawyer Milloy exit.

Maybe Danny will be part of that.

it's pile on the Patriots time. Well Danny, all I can say is you never would have won 2 rings without the Patriots.

IDGAF what he says, I rewatched SB51 the other week and he was beyond clutch, I’ll always love him.

I’ve never understood the take that Belichick or the Patriots are cheap. It’s not about paying players what they deserve or are worth. It’s about allocating the salary cap. Their payroll is the same as every other team or at least averages it long term.

The fact that they won so much caused their players to be in demand forcing them to make difficult decisions. Just look at the lack of success of every other team that followed brief moments at or near the top.

The Patriots better go hire Steve Gregory before he starts telling everybody the story about how his agent agreed to a deal with Caserio and then Belichick intervened and renegotiated a million dollar pay cut in the final year of the deal.


(Former Patriots players Steve Gregory, Leon Washington, Ty Warren, Tony Carter, Billy Yates, and Tyrone McKenzie all worked for Patricia in Detroit but currently appear to be unemployed.)

Amendola's first contract: 5 years 28.5M
2013- 12 games, 633 yards in 54 catches
2014 - 16 games, 200 yards in 27 catches
Restructure to 3Y/12.7M
2015 - 14 games, 648 yards in 65 catches
Restructure to 2Y/8.1M
2016 - 12 games, 243 yards in 23 catches
Restructure to 1Y/1.7M
2017 - 15 games, 659 yards in 61 catches

Sorry - to me this isn't production and durability that makes you untouchable for pay cuts.

Joey007 said:

Damn.

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First of all, if you're not watching the video, you're getting the wrong impression from that quote. Amendola goes out of his way to praise BB - loved the way he coached and loved playing for him.

He took pay cuts because he was constantly banged up. He didn't have to take them. And he put rings on his own fingers as well, let us not forget, and those translated in to high profile $$$,

I'm reminded of when Edelman went to test he market and crawled back to New England.

Loved Amendola here, root for him still - but don't just that interview by one line, because that's not the tenor of it at all. Cowherd ever tried to bait him into the "see, it was Brady all along" debate right after that line and he wasn't having any of it.

Danny's a good guy.

BB has burned a lot of bridges and stinks at drafting. we may not have another .500 season for many years

Kdo5 said:

Nothing against DA but he could’ve asked for a trade or to be let go if it was that upsetting.

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I think DA has an accountability issue.

Joey007 said:

Damn.

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If he stayed healthy and produced he wouldn’t have had to take pay cuts.

TheRainMaker said:

I believe it was Tony Gonzalez or some big time former NFL player that said the biggest myth in pro sports is that players want to "win". I believe him.

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If Tom Brady wins Super Bowls, his life completely changes and the way people talk about and remember him and the opportunities he gets changes. Tom with 6, potentially 7, rings is going to be called the greatest QB for years and get the Montana treatment where doors will be opened for him for the rest of his life. People will offer him endorsements forever, he'll get business deals forever, he'll be treated like a king out here if he comes back the same way Elway gets deified in Denver. People will run documentaries about him. Whatever money he may have sacraficed will get given back 10x over for what that sacrafice accomplished for him. Same is true for Bill Belichick.

Danny Amendola is not going to be treated much differently. He won rings but do you think guys like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, TO, Steve Largent, Calvin Johnson are going to go "oh here's Danny with two rings in the elite WR's club". Or do you think people are going to rush to give an endorsement contract to 2x champ Danny Amendola. I doubt it.