New England leads in free agent cash spending with aim to break a league wide trend

AtoZ Sports

Kyle Crabbs discusses how the New England Patriots have invested the most money in the NFL on free agent contracts during the 2025 offseason, such as WR Stefon Diggs, DT Milton Williams, and LB Robert Spillane, with hopes to break previous trends in the NFL

Transcript

00:00The New England Patriots broke out the checkbook in free agency this year,

00:04and if recent history is any indicator,

00:07they do need to be a little worried about what kind of bang they're about to get for their buck.

00:14I'm Kyle Krabs with A to Z Sports, and building a roster through free agency is

00:18a risky proposition in the NFL, in large part because these contracts

00:23on the open market when negotiating against other teams

00:26is typically good for a 20-30% surcharge tax

00:30because you have to provide the best offer on the open market.

00:34New England, as a team that has struggled to get traction the last few years

00:38and has won eight football games in the last two seasons combined,

00:42had a particularly difficult time closing the deal on some of their offers in free agency,

00:47including wide receiver Chris Godwin,

00:49who's been widely reported turned out significantly more money

00:53to go back to Tampa Bay as compared to signing to be the wide receiver one in New England.

00:58Now, New England did ultimately get their man at wide receiver in signing Stefan Diggs,

01:03who got $16.6 million guaranteed at signing,

01:06but that commitment is just a fraction of what the Patriots handed out as far as guaranteed money.

01:13The total value of contracts the Patriots signed this offseason

01:17exceeded a third of a billion, with a B, dollars.

01:22You saw Milton Williams get $51 million guaranteed at signing.

01:27Harold Landry got over $26 million guaranteed at signing.

01:31Robert Spillane got more than $20 million guaranteed at signing.

01:34The Patriots are one of just three teams across the NFL

01:36that exceeded $100 million in guaranteed at signing dollars,

01:40but for those other teams like Minnesota,

01:43you saw players that were previously with the team who tested the market

01:47and then came back and signed again with that original team

01:50that helped elevate the guarantees and push them to that lofty figure.

01:54But what kind of track record can you realistically expect for these big money spenders in free agency

02:00to have that success translate onto the field?

02:05Consider last year, the top three teams as far as cash spending

02:08and guaranteed at signing rate in free agency

02:10were the Atlanta Falcons, the Tennessee Titans, and the Carolina Panthers.

02:14None of those teams finished with a winning record

02:17and two of the three picked in the top eight in the NFL draft.

02:21The big spender in 2023 was the Denver Broncos,

02:26who subsequently had the entire world come crashing down around them

02:30in Sean Payton's first year with the program.

02:33Now, they have since reaped the benefits of that,

02:35but only after getting themselves out of the Russell Wilson contract.

02:38The last team that went on to lead the league in guaranteed at signing in free agency

02:43to win double-digit games was none other than the New England Patriots in 2021.

02:49They, of course, went 10-7 in Mac Jones' rookie season

02:52and then regressed significantly to the point in which New England is at now,

02:58where they've been trying to pick up the pieces with both now Bill Belichick and Tom Brady gone.

03:02It isn't often that you see sustained success through this big influx in cash spending.

03:10And because the team has struggled,

03:12you had to spend more to attract players to come to your program

03:15than what you otherwise would have.

03:16The good news for New England is this.

03:19Drake May coming into his second season,

03:21a more stable coaching staff in New England,

03:23and a last-place schedule should have New England well-suited

03:27to contend for a playoff spot in 2025.

03:30But even if that happens,

03:33the question then becomes how well do the contracts that they gave out this year

03:37age past the first season?

03:39And if the answer is not well,

03:41New England may well have some buyer's remorse

03:44and find themselves backsliding yet again like they did in 2021.

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