Robert Kraft’s New England Patriots are valued at $9 billion; Forbes says they are the 4th-most valuable team in the NFL. However, when it comes to signing new contracts, they are reportedly tight-fisted. The embarrassing claim resurfaced at a time when they have put cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s contract extension on hold.
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“The Pats are notoriously a pain in the a—,” Patriots insider Carlos A. Lopez quoted an agent whom he spoke with last year. “They’re honestly good people. Just a pain in the a— to squeeze because they’re so f—g cheap for no reason.”
This agent reportedly was in negotiations for multiple contracts with the Patriots. However, ultimately Kraft and his franchise refused to bring out money from their fortune reserve. We can connect the dots with a study carried out by The Athletic’s Mike Sando.
He ranked the NFL teams by spending last year. Sando’s analysis of cash spending over the last 10 years placed Robert Kraft’s Patriots 31st in “cash-over-cap,” with the Steelers the only team below them.
“I’m not sure New England believes that salary-cap management is a strategic area,” one exec said back then. “They have treated it more like a function.”
Despite spending frequently in free agency last offseason, the Patriots ranked just 12th in 2025 cash spending, showing how much they still needed to improve their personnel.
Back then, Kraft broke his silence on why they bank on minimal spending.
“We’ve always had a situation where we spend to the cap,” Kraft said in January 2025. “We have never told any coach or limited to spending. … Spending to the cap or above the cap is not – we want to win. That’s our priority first.”
The Patriots haven’t invested as heavily in players as other teams, which has led to the perception that Kraft was trying to save money. In 2016, after already winning four Super Bowls, the Patriots offered a two-year, $30 million extension to Tom Brady, whereas the Houston Texans were paying $37 million to Brock Osweiler for the same duration. Brady’s two top targets, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, were also paid less than what others in their positions were making.
“I think people should just look at our record,” Kraft said. “We’re privileged over the last 30 years to have the best win-loss record of any team in sports. We went to 10 Super Bowls. There are teams that haven’t gone to one.”
The money talks about the Patriots started trending again after Kraft and Co. now keep star cornerback Gonzalez without a long-term contract extension.
Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon recently signed a four-year, $132 million extension that includes $101 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid active cornerback. Gonzalez acknowledged feeling some frustration as the talks continue to draw out.
Gonzalez is now seeking his own long-term payday after emerging as one of the league’s premier cornerbacks. The Patriots exercised his fifth-year option through 2027, with negotiations between the two sides continuing this summer. Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show that the Patriots are yet to enter the benchmark set by Witherspoon in their talks with Gonzalez. However, the team is eager to retain the cornerback.
“We want him here. He’s an elite player,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said recently. He also said that the amount being offered to Gonzalez will surpass Witherspoon’s $33 million annual salary. However, it is unclear why talks have not been fruitful so far.
Perhaps the Patriots actually paying the cornerback his due might help them get rid of the “cheap” narrative that they have been stamped with.