So Now That Belichick Signed Matthew Judon to a Big Pay Raise He Wasn't Owed, is He Still a Cruel, Heartless Monster?
The Patriots giving Matthew Judon a $2 million bump in pay is one of those rare "Good for all involved" scenarios. Good for Judon, for obvious reasons. Good for the team because, in the incomprehensible calculus of NFL salaries, paying him more seems to reduce their cap hit:
Most importantly, it's good for me and you because Judon has unquestionably been New England's best player since signing here two seasons ago.
But the new contract also has the added benefit of giving further lie to one of the oldest and most pervasive lies of the Dynasty Era. That would be the one that says Bill Belichick is cheap. A miser on the order of Ebenezer Scrooge bitching out his cubicle monkey Bob Cratchit for wanting to throw another lump of coal on the fire in the office while denying Tiny Tim Children's Crutch coverage on Scrooge & Marley's family plan.
This is relevant because one of the biggest storylines of camp through the first couple of weeks has been Judon's alleged dissatisfaction with the way he's supposedly being nickeled and dimed. It's not only been all over the Boston media, it's been repeated by former-employees who definitely weren't happy with past contracts they'd signed:
Now to be clear, the one person who hasn't said Judon had a problem with Judon's contract is … Judon. Either before or after putting his name on the line which is dotted:
Now, the cynical person would say that Judon did a soft holdout, a quiet quitting thing, which forced Belichick's hand and left him with no other choice. And I am cynical of your cynicism. Because as I said when Judon wasn't practicing, letting him show up to workouts, interact with fans and even take reporters' questions is the most un-Patriots approach to a player holdout in the history of Patriots player holdouts:
Now, I suppose if you're using Judon's non-holdout to support your argument, you'll probably latch onto the fact in his first practice after his docusign, he had three sacks to prove your point. And good for you. But it's more likely he's just getting better as camp goes on because he was was being brought along slowly and spending most of his time on the conditioning field than he was halfassing it earlier in a negotiating ploy. Also, he's a hell of a good pass rusher and the Pats offensive line is still in a transitional phase. So there's that.
Another factor that gets used as an exhibit in the prosecution's case against Belichick McDuck's cheapness is Lawrence Guy, who has gotten more air time on Boston sports radio since camp opened than he has in his previous six seasons of playing his heart out in the middle of the Pats' D-line. As a matter of fact, there are hosts who probably haven't mentioned his name without it being in the context of how much he "sucks" because he's only had 12 sacks, who are making him into a folk hero now.
The reason being that the last time his contract was up, the team made him an offer. He declined it and tried the free agent market. When he couldn't find a better offer, he came back. Only to find they'd reduced the first offer in the meantime. Granted, that sucks. You hate to see a guy (or Guy) you like, who works his balls off and hardly ever misses time, have to go through a hard negotiation like that. But that's the NFL. It's the business side of the game you hate to see. But it's the harsh reality for the broad middle class who chose this life.
But here's an even harsher reality. One I hate to even bring up because again, I'm a Lawrence Guy fan:
He hasn't been playing great.
Take the analytics for what they're worth, but his Pro Football Focus run defense grade has been steadily declining for years:
- 2018: 90.5
- 2019: 72.0
- 2020: 67.1
- 2021: 62.1
- 2022: 51.4
For a run-stuffing specialist interior lineman, that's a tough metric. And if the elves in Cris Collinsworth's little hollowed out tree see it, there's every reason to think it's showing up on tape in the coaches' meetings.
I don't say this to be cruel. Just to point out that the way this franchise has been run since Belichick was beamed down here from his homeworld, pay is based on two factors: The market and performance. The going rate at your position, and how valuable the coaching staff projects you'll be. It's not about feelings or anything subjective. It hasn't been since Lawyer Milloy was shown the door in 2003, and it's not today. And it won't be next year or the year after.
This empire was built on cold, hard, uncaring numbers. And that's how it's been sustained for so impossibly long. Hard as that is to process at times. The same mindset that made certain players the highest paid ever at their positions (Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Gronk) at times, just rewarded Judon for a great season and has played hardball with Guy after some down seasons. You can call it miserly Because that makes for a great story. But you're better off just coming to grips with it and calling it The Patriots Way.