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

In response to coach Bill Belichick's recent claim that the New England Patriots are no longer big spenders in NFL free agency, owner Robert Kraft retorts that money will never be a problem.

The New England Patriots hired Bill O'Brien. They signed receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency. They recently awarded new contracts to DeVante Parker and Ja'Whaun Bentley.

And if they don't land coveted free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins, it won't be because of money. Says owner Robert Kraft, "Money spending will never be the issue, I promise you, or I’ll sell the team."

Kraft's declaration was given to the Boston Sports Journal, in response to coach Bill Belichick's odd explanation - excuse? - at the end of last season about New England suddenly not being big enough spenders in free agency.

Said Belichick last January about his team's lackluster 2021 free-agent class, "Our spending in 2020, our spending in 2021, and our spending in 2022 - the aggregate of that - was we were 27th in the league in cash spending. Couple years we’re low, one year was high, but over a three-year period, we are one of the lowest-spending teams in the league."

BSJ's Greg Bedard sought out Kraft to get his side of the financial story.

“So I asked Robert about Bill Belichick’s comments, about how they’re one of the lowest cash-spending teams in the league,” Bedard said on NBC Sports Boston’s Early Edition. “And a lot of fans took that as a little bit of a shot at ownership, that the Krafts aren’t willing to spend for this team. And I asked Robert about that, and I just want to quote him accurately.

“He says, ‘He has never come to me and not gotten everything he wanted from a cash-spending perspective. We have never set limits'."

More than a lack of spending, most of us believe the reason for the Pats being 25-25 without a playoff win the last three seasons is a lack of Tom Brady.

According to Spotrac, however, the Patriots’ payroll stands at $203,597,868, second-lowest in the NFL. They are about $15 million under the salary cap, one of the reasons for so much optimism in having the flexibility to sign Hopkins.

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