Kraft Denies Patriots' Cheap Spending: 'Not True!'

In the face of documented frugality, owner Robert Kraft attempts to assure fans that his New England Patriots have a big budget for the coming months.

To paraphrase AC/DC, money ... or lack thereof ... talks.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft addressed rumors of his team's apparent offseason frugality as he arrived in Las Vegas to attend the NFL Honors ceremony. Facing a fateful spring, Kraft publicly promised carte blanche spending for his new management group headlined by head coach Jerod Mayo and director of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending," Kraft said, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. "Let me just say, for our fans: that’s just not true. ... If cash spending became an issue for our family, and we couldn’t do it, then I would sell the team."

One of the most common tropes of Bill Belichick's 24-year tenure at the helm of the Patriots was his ability to find constant diamonds in the roster rough, but some accused New England of taking the concept to the extreme in the latter stages of his tenure.

Admitted Kraft, "Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship."

Per Spotrac, the Patriots ranked 30th in offseason spending in both 2020 and 2021, their first two with the knowledge that Tom Brady wouldn't be back under center. They were 25th last season but fell all the way to 31st the year before. 

A report from Mike Reiss of ESPN documented the excessive prudence further, noting that the Patriots are dead last in cash spending over the past 10 years. Even with the supposed extra spending this time around, the Patriots missed out on several major free agent targets of both the domestic (Jakobi Meyers) and foreign (DeAndre Hopkins) variety.

A greater spotlight will be cast upon the Patriots' spending this spring: per Over the Cap, the team will have over $66 million to spend on offseason renovations, which is good for the third-most cap space in the league behind only Washington and Tennessee. New England also holds the third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, where the total rookie contract was valued at $38.2 million last season.

Kraft vs. Belichick? Patriots 'Money Spending Will Never Be Issue'

"They say we've been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true," Kraft continued. "But we had a pretty good record and we won three Super Bowls.

"(Our decisionmakers) have been able to get whatever they want. Winning football games, after my family, is the most important thing in my life. Whatever we can do to help make that happen, we’re going to do."

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