The New England Patriots have a complicated reputation when it comes to paying their players. The Patriots are famous for parting ways early with their best players, saying goodbye to JC Jackson, Shaq Mason and Ted Karras this offseason. And then, of course, there was the departure of Tom Brady in 2019. But that’s not the only way they’re stingy, according to former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
He indicated — perhaps jokingly — that the Patriots weren’t always working to get players to their incentive milestones that were a part of their contracts. So if a player needed a few more catches or snaps to hit his bonus, the Patriots may pull that guy from the field. Gronkowski was cracking jokes about the Patriots’ antics during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
“I’ve seen it before. Not with the Patriots, though. They’ll probably pull you before you hit that bonus there,” Gronk said on TV. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Rob Gronkowski on the #Bucs leaving him in the game to get his catch bonus last season: "I've seen that happen before. Not with the Patriots, though. They'll probably pull you before you hit that bonus there…"
"I shouldn't have said that." 😂pic.twitter.com/p6ohcaT2gQ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 7, 2022
That might have been Gronk’s experience. But there are also situations where the Patriots did just the opposite. For example, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy received his $500,000 bonus, even in a season when he fell 0.2% short of his contract milestone of 55% of snaps.
So maybe Gronk is being a bit tough on Bill Belichick and company.
