Defense spending rises

Patriots' offense makes do with less

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff, 9/2/2003

FOXBOROUGH -- You can see that the Patriots have more top players on defense than offense. And that can be illustrated with dollar signs as well.

According to an NFL Players Association document, the Patriots' 11 defensive starters -- Richard Seymour, Ted Washington, Bobby Hamilton, Rosevelt Colvin, Mike Vrabel, Ted Johnson, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Asante Samuel, and Rodney Harrison -- account for just under $30 million of salary cap money. The 11 offensive starters -- Tom Brady, Antowain Smith, Fred McCrary, Christian Fauria, Troy Brown, David Patten, Matt Light, Damien Woody, Mike Compton, Joe Andruzzi, and Adrian Klemm -- have salary cap money that adds up to $17.75 million.

Only two defensive starters are under $1 million individually: Samuel, whose cap hit is $303,000, and Hamilton, who might be the biggest bargain in the NFL at $860,000. There are five offensive starters under $1 million on the cap.

The offense gets a boost if Daniel Graham eventually beats out Fauria because his cap number is $1.28 million. But if veteran Tyrone Poole starts over Samuel at cornerback, Poole's cap hit is $1.1 million.

The Patriots, like all NFL teams, had to be down to the $74.607 million salary cap when they put together their 53-man roster Sunday afternoon.

The emphasis on defense reflects a departure from the traditional structure in which the star quarterback, running back, cornerback, left tackle, stud defensive end/and or pass rusher would be at the top of the pyramid.

The Patriots' top two cap numbers belong to a cornerback and a safety. Law's $8.8 million is tops, and Milloy's $5.9 million is second. While both are All-Pros, the Patriots have been attempting to get the numbers lowered. Neither Law, Milloy, nor their agent, Carl Poston, believes a pay cut is in order.

At the moment, Milloy appears to be Priority One. The team might have to live with Law's contract through this season.

Third highest on the Patriots' payroll is Johnson, the veteran middle linebacker. Johnson's contract, which runs through the '05 season, has been reworked a few times. His cap hit is still $3.6 million, largely because of a $1.4 million signing bonus, his $800,000 salary, and a pro-rated previous signing bonus. The good news on Johnson is that his number dips below $2 million in the final two years of the deal.

One reason the Patriots can absorb the cap imbalance is that Brady's cap hit is $3.3 million, a low number for a star quarterback. Brady, who re-upped with a $30 million extension over four years last summer, received a $2.7 million signing bonus on top of his $450,000 salary this season. This will be the last season the Patriots enjoy such a low number with Brady, because he will jump to $8.3 million next season and '05, and run up to $9.4 million by '06.

Otherwise, the Patriots are very frugal.

Woody's cap hit in this, the final year of his deal agreed to when he was a rookie, is $2.8 million. The Patriots are paying him a $530,000 salary, but he earned $1.46 million in an escalator and another $30,500 in a workout bonus. Incorporated in that salary is a pro-rated rookie bonus. The Patriots' most expensive offensive lineman after Woody is Compton at $1.6 million. The cap average of the line is $1.35 million, and the three quarterbacks take up only $4.5 million of cap space.On multiyear deals, the salary cap for each player is determined by taking the total signing bonus and pro-rating it over the length of the contract and adding in any other bonuses. For instance, on Colvin's deal, he received a $6 million bonus. The length of his contract is six years, therefore the pro-rated bonus is $1 million per year, which is added to his $550,000 salary and his $5,600 workout bonus. The sum is the cap hit of $1,555,600 for this season.

On a one-year deal where there is no signing bonus, the annual salary becomes the cap hit. However, the collective bargaining agreement includes a provision where teams will be charged only a $450,000 cap hit for a player with five credited seasons or more who earns the minimum salary for his credited years. Example: Larry Centers makes the $755,000 minimum for a player with 10-plus years experience, but only $450,000 counts against the cap. Any incentives earned by a player are tacked on to the next year's cap.

The Patriots, who place a premium on their strength and conditioning program, paid out just under $980,000 in workout bonuses. The biggest winners were Law, Milloy, Smith, and Compton, who each received a $106,500 bonus. The Patriots also paid out $26.4 million in signing bonuses, with Colvin's $6 million the largest, and another $2.6 million in roster bonuses, with Woody's $1.4 million the largest.

Three major players are in a crossroads year. Milloy is due a $2 million bonus next spring, which would kick in during his '04-06 deal. Willie McGinest, whose cap number is manageable at slightly less than $2 million after a restructured deal, could see that soar to about $5.6 million next season when he's due a $500,000 roster bonus and has the chance to earn $2 million in playing-time incentives. Smith, who received a $500,000 payment on his original signing bonus this spring to go along with his $1.4 million salary, has a $2 million roster payment due next March that would kick in in '05 and '06.

The highest-paid Patriots this year in terms of salary and bonuses are Colvin at $6.55 million, Law at $6.1 million, Milloy at $4.55 million, No. 1 pick Ty Warren at $3.765 million, McGinest at $3.66 million, Harrison at $3.2 million, Brady at $3.1 million, and Graham at $3.08 million.

Kicker Adam Vinatieri is the only player on the team with a guaranteed contract, for $1.4 million. He also received $250,000 in incentives. The Patriots also have "dead money" on their cap for players who have been released. They are charged with $600,000 of former receiver Donald Hayes's remaining cap.. . .

The Patriots signed four players to their practice squad: seventh-round pick Ethan Kelley, a nose tackle from Baylor; offensive lineman Jamil Soriano from Harvard; safety Shawn Mayer from Penn State; and guard Russ Hochstein from Nebraska. All four were cut Sunday.