Paint-by-number da Vinci
Belichick is master of salary-cap artistry
ORLANDO, Fla. — For nearly two decades, Bill Belichick has been viewed by his peers as the NFL’s best salary-cap manager.
And even he conceded to the difficulty of a balancing act that weighs the present, the near future and the distant future. That’s important to digest at this point of the team-building process as the available free agents are essentially depth pieces, regardless of their name recognition, and Belichick and the Patriots can continue to look down the road to map out an extension plan with some of their younger players.
Look, Belichick knows as well as anyone, and has admitted as such, that the cap can be manipulated in a variety of ways, namely the conversion of a base salary to a signing bonus. But that’s just one part of a puzzle that evolves almost weekly through nearly the entire year.
That’s why, as the Patriots are still stocked with about $8.5 million in cap space, Belichick was asked yesterday how broad of a perspective he maintains. With the current cap in mind, how much does he also focus on the 2019 season, or does he even lengthen his financial plan to 2021 when they’ve got two players (Stephon Gilmore, Marcus Cannon) under contract?
“That’s actually a good question,” Belichick said. “It’s a great question. It’s a good one. It’s a hard one. You have to be concerned with this year, obviously, but in my position, you have to see a little more than that as well. We’re going to have a team next year. We’re going to have a team the year after that, so we kind of look at as many factors as you can with this year taking the priority.
“But it can’t be absolute. You have to have a balance in future years. The money is an issue. The positions are an issue, the age of your team, all those things you take into consideration and you do the best you can. Sometimes, you can work out arrangements with players. Sometimes, you can’t. Sometimes, those are shorter. Sometimes, they’re longer. It’s not a straight answer to a question. It’s an ongoing process that you’re constantly addressing. As opportunities come up, you see how they fit in and do the best you can.”
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who is one of the most respected minds in the NFL, once told the Herald that Belichick always seems to be two years ahead of everyone else in the league. With that in mind, it was hardly a coincidence a year ago when the Patriots entered free agency with $65 million in cap space, which was far and away the most in Belichick’s tenure. (By comparison, before a flurry of moves that freed up space this month, the Patriots were set to open free agency with $14 million in cap room.)
Of course, they needed that room to re-sign Dont’a Hightower and Duron Harmon, extend Julian Edelman, James White and David Andrews, add Gilmore and Lawrence Guy and more than double Rob Gronkowski’s paycheck with an incentive-based raise.
The Patriots have had a tricky offseason with the departures of Nate Solder, Malcolm Butler, Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola, and Belichick saluted them for landing better contracts than the Patriots were prepared to offer. The Pats also added Adrian Clayborn, Jason McCourty, Danny Shelton and Cordarrelle Patterson and re-signed Matthew Slater, Rex Burkhead and several depth pieces.
Relative to last year, though, it’s been quiet. And the same comparison can be made for next offseason when the Patriots’ expiring contracts include Trey Flowers, Shaq Mason, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan and Stephen Gostkowski. That group could also include Malcom Brown, Shelton and Phillip Dorsett if the Pats don’t exercise their fifth-year options. And the Pats already got out ahead of that process by giving Patrick Chung a two-year extension.
So another question was posed to Belichick: With that group in mind, would the Patriots hypothetically pass on a free agent right now if they believe that cap space can be better utilized if it were rolled over into 2019?
“Yeah, absolutely, when you make a commitment, you make a commitment,” Belichick said. “So you live with that commitment. Sometimes, you move out of a commitment earlier than you expect to. Sometimes, the commitment lasts longer than you think it will. That can be a fluid situation as well. Sometimes, you think a player is going to be here for Xamount of years, and it (then becomes) X plus Y. Sometimes, it’s X minus Y. That’s why I’m saying it’s a very fluid situation. It’s constantly changing. Just try to manage it the best that we can. Not perfect, but it’s what we try to do.”
Belichick’s peers still believe he is as sharp as ever in terms of executing those long-term financial plans. But even he admitted it’s not always as easy as it sometimes looks.
‘We kind of look at as many factors as you can with this year taking the priority. But it can’t be absolute.’ — BILL BELICHICK on making salary-cap decisions