The New England Patriots are no longer the perennial Super Bowl contenders they once were since the turn of the millennium. Principal Robert Kraft assured fans that the slump was not due to the team’s lack of spending.
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick came under fire last year for making some pretty scathing comments about the team’s below-average spending. Belichick noted in a June interview that the Patriots are “one of the lowest spending teams in the league.”
Belichick and Kraft appear to have moved past the mistake that led to their amicable parting, but the latter still felt the need to address the concerns a year later. Speaking to reporters at the Wynn in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week, Kraft assured fans that money will never be an issue. “I know there’s a perception that we’ve cut costs,” Kraft said. “I will say: it’s not right for our fans. Look, we’ve been fortunate to have great coaches in our system and coaches who recognized the value. He ran a tight ship.
Kraft didn’t deny that the Patriots weren’t the most reckless with their recent spending. But it showed the team’s record during that time. Kraft said Belichick also spent money with the future in mind. This means responsible spending, not short-term spending. “I say we haven’t spent a lot of money in the last 10 years, and that’s probably true,” Kraft said Thursday. “But we have a pretty good record. We won three Super Bowls.
But our coaches have always had the ability to spend money at the desired level. I think Bill was always thinking about the future and understood the value. But I’ve never given up on a coach in 30 years.”Craft assured fans that the win was important not only to Patriots fans, but also to him and his family. Who pays the ticket to watch the match. He even said he would “sell the team” if he felt he couldn’t spend enough money to build a winning roster.
Of course, the frugal Patriots of the past also employed some of the best quarterbacks of all time. Since Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the team’s record is 29 wins and 38 losses.
A new era in New England without Brady or Belichick may require more coal in the furnace than Kraft used.
