Patriots Are the Smartest NFL Spenders

[Ian]

USA Today has an article this morning looking at the fact the Patriots have compiled a 61-19 regular season record from 2009-2013 and did it with payrolls that ranked, on average, in the bottom half of the league.

Of course they credit Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, calling Belichick “not only one of the best in the league, but among the best in any sport, anywhere.”

“How did they do it? It starts with two people who’ve been with the franchise over a decade – and one of them doesn’t count toward the team’s payroll at all. The latter, of course, is Bill Belichick, the head coach universally regarded as not only one of the best in the league, but among the best in any sport, anywhere. No matter how much the Patriots retool their roster, Belichick remains in complete command of the franchise, and his steady stewardship (though not so steady that he won’t make adjustments on the fly as needed) has produced a 163-61 regular season record with the Patriots, as well as 11 straight seasons of 10 wins or more. Grantland’s Bill Barnwell suggested in 2012 that top coaches are undervalued, since they play a vital role in a team’s success without costing a cent against the salary cap. For that reason, no matter what the Patriots pay Belichick – and no one outside the organization has much of an idea - he’s worth every penny.”

You can read more here – CLICK HERE

 

[chasa]

ughhhhh spygate referenced.

Lame.

 

[Jackson 2]

ughhhhh spygate referenced.

Lame.

There will very likely never be an analytical, historical piece written about BB and this franchise without a similar reference. We'd all be better off getting used to it.

 

[BSR]

ughhhhh spygate referenced.

Lame.

Actually I thought the article was fair in that respect saying it was no more than a footnote. That's how I tend to view it.

 

[chasa]

I just feel like, in an article about being smart spenders, bringing up spygate is dumb. Spygate has nothing to do with the salary cap.

 

[PatsChamp88]

ughhhhh spygate referenced.

Lame.

Well the article is about spendgate

 

[chasa]

if it was about spendgate it should have been about the broncos superbowl titles.

 

[DarrylS]

Doesn't this once again confirm how cheap Mr. Kraft is??...

Don't tell Felger and "Steve from Fall River", as it will only give them more ammunition for their mindless rants and raves...

 

[Urgent]

In a salary-capped league, $/wins will be lower for teams with more wins. Patriots have more wins.

The statement "payrolls averaging in the lower half of the league" is also confusing in a salary-capped league. This is not baseball with a $250mm team and a $50mm team. The Patriots, in effect, spent around 98% of the cap each year, by simply turning a small amount of the injury reserve forward into the next year. Over any period of time, the team payroll averages should vary very little.