Patriots, economics & management

ANALYSIS

Reviewing some NFL-related content from the last two weeks, this piece by Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post caught my eye. I thought the article was excellent and could be applied directly to the New England Patriots in describing part of what makes them a successful organization.

Brandt, a former front-office executive for the Green Bay Packers who currently consults for the Philadelphia Eagles, makes the point that spending doesn't necessarily result in winning in the NFL. He uses specific examples from his time with the Packers to reinforce the thought.

Brandt also clears up a common misperception that unused salary cap space is a reflection of a team that is not spending, while comparing the NFL's salary cap system to Major League Baseball.

As I read Brandt's piece, I thought about the importance of strong management, which led me to remarks that Patriots owner Robert Kraft recently made to The Times newspaper of Britain.

This comment from Kraft -- who was speaking about why he didn't purchase a Premier League soccer team in Liverpool -- stood out to me from the article:

"I’m happy to compete if the rules are the same for everybody, and then we’ll see how we well we manage against other people. I think we’re pretty good business people and we’ve gone through the learning curve of knowing what to do to build a winning organization – in any sport.”

All told, I found Brandt's piece informative, and thought there was a connection to the Patriots. Statistics show the Patriots spend their fair share of cash, but from a pure business perspective, it's their strong management and cap acumen that has helped set them apart from much of their competition.

EXTRA POINT: The Patriots formally announced the signing of cornerback Darius Butler today. Butler is one of the team's four second-round draft choices (41st overall). The team previously announced on Twitter that an agreement had been reached.