Patriot owner Robert Kraft dug deep gaps in his pockets to ensure that the dynasty was not dying.
“In my 27 years as an owner,” Kraft told NBC SportsFootball morning in america“Colum,” I’ve never had to come up with so much capital before. “
According to Spotrack, the Patriots broke their mold and spent the last week on a wild free-agency, signing 19 players to a contract worth nearly $ 300 million. Guaranteed money in those deals is at least $ 162 million – or about $ 10 million less than the craft spent in 1996 to buy the Patriots franchise.
“It’s like investing in the stock market,” Kraft said. “You take advantage of market reforms and inefficiencies when you can and that’s what we have done here. we will see. Nothing is guaranteed, and I am very cautious about it. But we are not in business are in business. We are in this business to win. “
The Patriots (7-9) missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and were facing their first losing season since 2000, when a rogue quarterback named Tom Brady was on the bench. Brady led the Patriots to 17 AFC East titles and six Super Bowls before winning their seventh championship with the season.
During those years, the Patriots searched for free agent bargains and hard earned their own free agents: play here for less and win, or take money elsewhere and face uncertainty.
“I remember that we always made fun of the teams that spent too much time offscreen,” Kraft said.
When entering the offseason with the third-most salary-cap space ($ 69 million) when the other teams were fielded for room, the Patriots allowed their rebuild to accelerate with the likes of Matthew Judon and the top two tight. Jonu Smith and Hunter Henry, at the ends. The Patriots spent more on the first day of free agency in 2021 than the full length of any other official.
“This year,” Kraft said, “instead of competing for most of the top players on 10 or 12 teams, there were only two or three.
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