Patriots HC Bill Belichick gives $209,500,000 management lesson on building a winning franchise in the NFL
Bill Belichick is one of the greatest head coaches in NFL history but also is the de facto general manager of the Patriots. The 71-year-old is in his 24th season with New England and has been at the helm of one the most successful franchises in the last two decades.
The Patriots head coach was asked in an appearance on 'The Greg Hill Show' about the spending habits of the team. Belichick explained why the only thing that's important is the salary cap and not cash spending:
“Cash spending isn’t really that relevant," said Belichick. "It’s cap spending. So teams that spend a lot of cash one year, probably don’t spend a lot of cash in the next year because you just can’t sustain that. So we’ve had high years, we’ve had low years, but our cap spending has always been high."
The Pats' head honcho added:
"And that’s the most competitive position you can be in. So that’s really — the cash spending, there’s no cash cap. There’s a salary cap and we spend to the salary cap. That’s what’s important.”
According to OverTheCap, the New England Patriots are 31st in the NFL in active cash spending at around $209.5 million. The 2024 season sees the team last in the category with almost $110.8 million.
Bill Belichick was then asked if franchises could make more cap space by paying out more cash in guaranteed money. He said:
“Temporarily you can, but you can’t sustain it, no. You can’t sustain the 20 years of success that we sustained by overspending every year without having to eventually pay those bills and play with a lesser team.
"So I think if you look at the teams that have done that, that’s kinda where some of them ended up. Jacksonville back in ‘14, the Rams are going through it, and Tampa is going through it now."
To Bill Belichick's point, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams have over $74 million in dead cap this upcoming season.
Where do Bill Belichick and the Patriots sit when it comes to cap space?
Belichick and the Patriots currently rank 10th with over $15 million in cap space per OverTheCap.
He doubled down on the importance of cap space over cash spending in the interview with Hill:
“The cap is more relevant than cash is, for sure. You want to use all your cap space and put the best team you can on the field... if you’re not spending to your cap, then that means you could have players you’re choosing not to have. If you spend to your cap, you’ve fully exhausted all of your spending."
The advice is sound as the Patriots have won six Super Bowls in nine appearances under Bill Belichick. We'll see how the Patriots will fare on the field in the 2023 season.