Haven't read the whole last 3 pages. Somebody help me out. Did the OP produce example after example of years that BB did not spend to the cap, for all intents and purposes?
Did he establish definitively that even in 2019, Brady's last year, we did
not get on the hook for $10 million guaranteed to one Antonio Brown, before "renegotiating" to $5M after the fact, based on certain off-field issues... just for example?
Hold the phone! Has the OP established a talking point that's never been true before... is it true now?
People are "dug in" because this board has a bunch of really smart cap guys (and btw, I ain't one of 'em). The Pats have spent what they had to spend, or at least that seems to have been the answer in the past, year after year after year. Maybe that's not the answer now.
It's pretty simple. They could only keep the band together for 6 super bowls and 20 years end to end. I know that's just terrible work by "Bill the GM" or somesuch, wahhhhhh.
FFS, move on. Brady doesn't play here. He'd spent a career delaying gratification, and whether it was the Guerero situation, the Jimmy G saga, or whatever, Brady eventually internalized all the business decisions in NE (roster vs. roster of "Brand X," perceived respect factor, suspected agism from the Brady perspective, etc.) as trumping whatever remaining desire he had to play for YOUR New England Patriots.
Their interests diverged. It's over. Then, as Brady is wont to do, he won the fackin' Super Bowl.
We see it too dude.
But is it because the Patriots do not spend enough? Welp, in a universe of unknowns, you seem to have settled on a thoroughly disprovable hypothesis, and good on you. I mean, if a theory's not falsifiable, what good is it? But if it's falsifiable, and has been falsified, time to stop patting yourself on the back for fair play on the falsifiability count, and find another theory.
I mean, am I wrong? Have we not spent enough money to win or something in the past?
I really would like to know what exactly "mortgaging the future" means. A term that gets loosely thrown around.
I dunno either, but in this interest rate environment, maybe we're crazy not to. 2% becomes 4% and whoa nelly, payments go through the roof... not to mention the knock-on effects on demand in the market.