Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Foxboro Finance 101: PatsCap Talks Patriots 2021 Offseason — 2/11/2021

Episode Date: February 11, 2021

The New England Patriots are projected to have a wealth of available salary cap space for the upcoming 2021 season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Miguel ‘PatsCap’ Benzan to discuss the Patriots salary cap prospectus; including New England’s cap status compared to the rest of the NFL, applying free agent contract tenders, and prognosticating on how the Pats may spread their cap wealth in 2021.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. EchelonGo to EchelonFit.com/LockedOn and try any Echelon Fitness equipment at home for 30 days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Today is Thursday, February 11th, 2021. And today's podcast syllabus reads Foxborough Finance 101 here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.

Today's episode of Locked On Patriots is presented today by rockauto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Visit rockauto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. It is great to be back on the pod again today. And as always, I thank all of you for taking the time to listen. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

And that phrase, your team every day, means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. Share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there doing some Thursday traveling through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, before we get started on the business of the day, I just wanted to take a moment to offer my apologies on yesterday's midweek mailbag episode being missing from your Locked

On Patriots daily routine. Folks, technology is a great thing, but sometimes it can be unforgiving. And unfortunately, yesterday was one of those days. Despite the effort to publish the show as soon as possible, Unfortunately, both time and technological cooperation just did not agree yesterday. But fear not, because yesterday's midweek mailbag was one of the deepest and most insightful groups of questions that we've had in quite some time. Technology is not going to get this one down, folks. And because I had very special guests scheduled for today's episode and Friday's episode,

stay tuned for a weekend special edition of Locked on Patriots, where your great questions for the midweek mailbag will indeed be featured. And again, as they always are, these questions were insightful, thought-provoking, and very relevant when it comes to time. Barring any unforeseen news breaking over the course of the next couple of days, my answers to your questions will continue to remain relevant. That's right, folks, the show was indeed ready to go yesterday.

Just again, the gods of technology and time just weren't on my side yesterday. But I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart how appreciative I am of each and every one of you that took the time to submit a question for yesterday's pod. I've said so often on these airwaves how appreciative and how humbled I am by the support I receive from all of you great listeners of Locked On Patriots. To me, without any question, the best part of being the host of this podcast is the opportunity to interact with all of you and make you a part of the show. After all, without you, the listeners, there would be no Locked On Patriots podcast.

And this offseason is going to be the most interactive pod experience Locked On Patriots has ever put out. So again, my apologies for yesterday, but rest assured that if you did submit a question for yesterday's midweek mailbag, at some point this weekend you will see a special edition of Locked On Patriots, and your great insight will still take center stage right here on these airwaves. So even though the wait for your next dose of Locked On Patriots was a little longer than it usually was in the middle part of the week, I promise you that today's show will be worth the wait. Joining me here today in the hot seat is our good friend, the father of Foxborough Finance,

the salary cap top gun, the great and powerful wizard of Benzón himself, the Pats cap Miguel Benzón. And with what proves to be an exciting offseason set to begin for the New England Patriots, Miguel has you covered with all the information you need when it comes to trades, free agency, tenders, the league salary cap, what actually counts against the salary cap. Folks, Miguel is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to anything and everything related to the cap. And I'm always honored that he joins me here on Locked On Patriots,

not just to provide all the great cap information that he does to all of you out there, but also to set the record straight. And today, Miguel is even going to set me straight. Foxborough faithful, pay no attention to anyone else behind the curtain when it comes to Patriots financials. Pay attention to my good friend, the great and powerful Wizard of Benzón, as he prepares to join me here today for a little Foxborough Finance 101 when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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Make sure to put Locked On in their How Did You Hear About Us box so they know we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com. Locked On listeners, February is Black History Month and the Locked On Podcast Network is honoring the challenges and success of black men and women in sports with a new series called Locked On Presents More Than The Game. Don't miss this week's episode featuring Candace Cooper of Locked On Tar Heels and Erica Ayala of Locked On Women's Basketball. They discuss the opportunities and challenges that come with being a black woman in sports. There is also a new episode coming next week,

so go ahead and subscribe to the Locked On Presents podcast feed on the Radio.com app or wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, the finances of your New England Patriots continue to be the hot topic in and around Foxborough, and when it comes to the Patriots' bottom line, it's time to talk business. New England Patriots business. And when we need the definitive word on anything and everything related to the Patriots' salary cap,

we seek the wisdom and counsel of the great and powerful Wizard of Benzahn. You know him as the Pats Cap. So honored that this man is my good friend and privileged to bring his wisdom and counsel back to the podcast today. Miguel Benzon, the Pats cap himself, is my guest on Lockdown Patriots. Miguel, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm glad to be here, Mike. I'm actually glad to be on a podcast instead of being outside shoveling the snow again.

Spot on, bud. Snow and the ice, definitely not fun. It is New England. We're used to it, but we still would prefer a little bit warmer weather. But that being said, what might be able to warm us up a little bit is the hot topic of the day, and that is the Patriot salary cap and some Foxborough financials. I'm calling today Foxborough Finance 101 because you

teach class every time you're here, bud. So let's get down to it. According to your most recent calculations based on your Twitter feed, the Patriots currently have $63,973,455 in available cap space. And based on what we've been hearing, the league cap is estimated at about $185 million. That's per the reports we heard over the weekend from Tom Palacero. I know Schefter had some recent reports as well, indicating that that number may fluctuate a little. Again, these are not exact, but they're estimates right now. Now, in no way am I disparaging anyone or am I discounting anyone's sources or their calculations, but buddy, I don't put any stock into a salary cap number until you legitimize it for me. So having the good fortune of knowing

you as well as I do, I see the work, the meticulous detail that you put into every calculation and projection. That's why whenever I have a question on the salary cap, you're my first source, quite frankly, bud, you're the only one I need. So here's the question. Based on your calculations and your extensive work, what will the Patriots' salary cap situation look like heading into 2021 as compared to the rest of the league? Okay, as compared to the rest of the league, they're going to be in the top five in terms of cap space. All right?

Folks, right now, the latest projection, and I'm going by Adam Schefter and not Tom Palazzaro, because Adam Schefter on Super Bowl Saturday or Sunday over the weekend had said he heard the cap's going to be somewhere in between $180 and $181 million. So when I'm doing

my cap space number, I'm just splitting the difference. $180.5 million. If you read Albert Breer, all right, from Sports Illustrated, he thinks it's going to get closer to what the 2020 cap was, $198.2 million, because he thinks there's going to be a TV deal that's going to raise up that number, and the owners and the players are going to agree to raise that number up. I'm going to give you some background and some history on this.

Usually by now, Mike, we would have heard the first official projection of the following year's cap number in December. COVID has, and even in they had a meeting last week where they talked about the league cap, they didn't even come out with an official projection. The players, this tells me that the players and the owners are trying to work behind the scenes to get the number up. But, of course, they really can't get the number up

unless they get a TV deal. All right? So that's the big thing. I think Adam Schefter is going to be right if there's no big TV deal. All right? If there's a TV deal, then I think Albert Breer is going to be right, and the number is going to be closer to $195 million. All right?

Right. Either way, the Patriots are going to be in the top in terms of cap space. I'm of the opinion the higher the cap space, the better off it is for the Patriots.

I think we talked about that on my last podcast. We always get new followers. I'm always getting new followers. I'm always getting new followers. You're always getting new listeners. Basically, the reason I think this way is the people saying, well, if the cap stays at $185, $175, $180 million,

the team's going to have to cut players to get underneath the cap. That's true. That is true. But who are they cutting? Are they going to be cutting, like, for example, the Saints? Are the Saints going to really cut Alvin Kamara or Michael Thomas?

No, they're going to cut the older guys, the guys who are in their 30s or late 20s, to get underneath the cap. They might extend or convert salary into signing bonus with Michael Thomas, all right, or Alvin Kamara to help them get underneath the cap. They're not cutting those guys. So if you want to get a bunch of players who are in their 30s or late 20s, yeah, you'll get them on the cheap. Me, as a Patriots fan, and I wanted this team to get younger, all right,

and here's a chance to get younger and better at a time Maybe you can get some discount prices discount prices for young talent All right, maybe some guy wants to go and you could pay him a lot pay him a good one-year prove-it deal But still he gets still gets it for the one-year prove deal. Maybe pay him ten million dollars and he hits free agency next year All right Or you can get – or like I was – before – right before he was called, Mike, I was doing like let me just pretend that's who we can sign. Sign players, right?

That is – that's great. That lends me into my next question actually, and that's perfect. Go ahead. Basically, you know, we get a lot of prognostications. You know, we get a lot of thoughts about what the Patriots might do with all of this cap space. It's a lot more than we've seen. Like you said, top five. We're not used to seeing the Patriots in this position.

So who will get extended? Who will the Patriots pursue? Can they trade for a superstar quarterback? Can they trade for a second-tier quarterback? What types of deals can they sign to keep themselves in financial good standing? So, you know, is there anything right now out there that really, you know, that hasn't been discussed?

Things of these natures. These are the questions that we get. So have at it, my friend. What can the Patriots do to take this extra cap space that they have out for a spin in 2021? Okay, so let's just use, I'm just basing this on the $180.5 million at the lead cap number, all right? And I'm doing, I did these numbers based on the first year's cap number of the deal.

So like, for example, if you heard that Keenan Allen signed a $20 million deal, right? That doesn't mean his cap number in the first year was $20 million. It was much less than that, okay? So I'm doing by the first year cap number, all right? So I get – so after – and I didn't cut anyone from the team yet. I haven't cut one person on the team yet. I signed my wide receiver number one his first year. And then, folks, don't get caught up in the specific numbers.

Just focus on the big picture, all right? My wide receiver one, I signed him to a deal. His first year cap number is $11 million. I re-signed Adam Butler, first year cap number, $6 million. I signed a linebacker, maybe Matt Milano from the Bills, to the same deal, maybe practically the same deal as Joe Sherbert did in 2020. His cap number in 2020 was $5.4 million. I re-signed David Andrews.

His first year cap number, $5.5 million. I sign my number two right receiver to the same deal that Adam Humphrey signed. First year cap number, $5 million. I re-sign Lawrence Guy. Lawrence Guy, his

last deal with the Patriots averaged $3.6 million. In 2021, I don't want to sign him to a four-year deal, all right? But I would sign him to a shorter deal so he gets more cap. So his cap number in the first year of the deal would be $4 million. All right? I do, for my tight end, I sign a tight end. Most likely, I sign a tight end.

Most likely I'm going to try to go after Janu Smith. I don't think Hunter Henry will be franchise tag. All right? I signed the same deal that the Browns signed Austin Hooper deal. He's his first year tag number, $3.5 million. I re-signed Justin Bethel, $2 million cap number. All right? So that's what I've done so far.

I take that $64 million cap number is now down to $27.8 million. Okay? With those cap numbers. Because why? I'm following you. As I sign players, I am kicking off players with a $780,000 salary off the top 51 list. So when I sign, for example, I sign Justin Bethel, while he has a $2 million cap number, he kicks off someone with a $780,000 cap number. So my net is $1.22 million in lost cap space.

Okay, so you do that. Okay, so you do sign several players. You're not really all those big numbers. Because you're kicking off some players, your net is much less. Alright?

So I still have $27.8 million. That's more than enough to get a trade for a veteran or veteran-wide

quarterback or sign one. Like you can go for Marcus Mariota. You could go for a Jimmy G. You could go for a Ryan Fitzpatrick. You could go for a Jamie Winston. You could trade for, like, and I don't think any of those, I don't think the Patriots could outbid anybody for a trade. But could they afford cap-wise to take on the Sean Watson's deal?

Yes. Could they take on cap-wise Carson Wentz's deal? Yes. You know what I'm saying? Or Russell Wilson, right? They could take on those deals and still have enough cap space. Because remember, folks, I haven't cut anyone. I haven't cut not one person from the Patriots yet.

All right? And I have Jonathan Jones on my roster because I gave him a restricted free agent tender. All right? I haven't cut one person, and I have Jonathan Jones on my roster. And the crazy thing, I'm looking at this, Mike. I'm looking at the players who are not on my top 51 list, right, because their salaries are so low. And I got Michael Awonu.

I got Justin Heron. I got J.J. Taylor. I got Miles Bryant, Cash Malua. This salary is not counting against the cap after these signings. That's just crazy. Could the Patriots

do all those things? Yes. How much cash is Bob Kraft willing to spend? It really is. Because, I mean, while I'm using those numbers for cap, these players are going to want a bonus, which means they're going to get more cash than their cap number.

So that's – the Patriots are a team that uses a signing bonus, which allows you to prorate that signing bonus. I'm just using the first-year cap number. So, for example, for when I say the wide receiver won $11 million, I'm talking about like a wide receiver that gets somewhere in the 17 to – average deal is $17 to $22 million a year. Most likely – so that's what I'm talking about. It's certainly possible, Mike. We'll see what happens.

I'm, as a fan, I'm excited about the offseason. As a person who has said several times on this podcast, I think that Belichick is going to win the seventh one. I think this is the year I expect to move. I highly disagree with PFF, Pro Football Focus, is this the year to rebuild. This is definitely not the year to rebuild. This is the year to – they want them, the Patriots,

to tank and try to get a quarterback in next year's draft. I'm like, this is the time. You have the chance to get a lot of players and some of these players at a good deal, this is the time to do it, especially if the rest of the team, because next year, let's say, folks, if they

get a TV deal and there's a lot more fans in the stands in 2021, that 2022 cap is going to go way up. Right. So that's where I stand. I'm hopeful.

Let's see. I mean, let's see what happens. I don't – it's going to matter how much cash they're willing to spend out. And that's going to be it. We don't know. It ultimately always comes down to that, doesn't it? Yeah. It really does.

And the funny thing is – and I was talking to my brother about this, let's say they make the signings, right? And at day one, we're happy with the signings. It doesn't mean that on the playing field it works out. If you sign, like, a player, I mean, that's why it may be better to sign the players you know, like Lawrence Guy, David Andrews, and Adam. You know what you're getting, okay? Right.

But you sign a free agent, you hope that he works out. Like, you know, so that, yeah. I've said several times on these airwaves, you know what you got. You never know what you're going to get. So you know what? Sometimes the commodity that you're familiar with might end up being more valuable than the commodity that you covet, but might not end up being a fit. And the Patriots know that better than anybody else.

We've seen them bring guys in here with big names that just for any reason have not worked out. I mean, you go back, you know, go back to guys like Chad Otrusenko, Joey Galloway, Albert Hainsworth, you know, they've been signings, Adelius Thomas, a huge signing for them, for the New England Patriots that just never worked out here. And then there have been guys that have been brought in, somebody like a Wes Welker under the radar, not a lot of people made a lot of fanfare about that, ended up being one of the best wide receivers this organization has ever seen. So you never really know for sure how things are going to work out. And you put it so eloquently, but I really do appreciate it. And breaking it down in financial terms for everyone to be able to understand and know exactly what the Patriots can do

and what they might do, and including what they can't do in this offseason. And folks, we are just scratching the surface with Miguel here today. Again, this is why my good friend here is on that very short list of being the best of the best on all things salary cap, not just when it comes to the Patriots. He's the guru when it comes to the Pats. I'm talking all across the league. That's why I call him the Pats cap top gun.

He is the best of the best. And next year on Locked On, Patriots, folks, in a segment that's unique to this podcast, Miguel's going to address some of those salary cat myths floating around, including a special request from me and giving me my comeuppance. All this when Miguel sets the record straight. Don't miss it next on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Locked On listeners, football might be over, but the NBA, college basketball, and the NHL are in full swing.

And it's still a great time to test your prognostication skills. And if you like to make those skills work for you a little bit, yeah, you know what I'm talking about. There's only one place that has you covered and one place we trust. BetOnline.ag. BetOnline is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all of your sports action. BetOnline even covers awards, TV shows, and reality TV. You get real-time updated odds and props on almost anything you can imagine.

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Locked On listeners, Thursdays on Locked On NFL are a must-listen as Ryan Tracy and Jake Liskow break down teams across the NFL from an analytics and team building perspective. Get the expert analysis on your favorite teams from Ryan and Jake every Thursday. Subscribe to Locked On NFL wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, again, Miguel Benzon, the Pats cap himself, joins me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast today. Insight you can only find here on Locked On Patriots.

And Miguel, in the previous segment, you gave us a lot of information about the league cap and how that's going to work. And also when it comes to the Patriots' relation to the league cap. And then you prognosticated on what the Patriots might do. Some players that might not be here. Some players that might. You even gave some indications as to players you'd like to see here in Foxborough,

and I like it, especially when you mentioned Keenan Allen. That's a guy I covered out in Los Angeles and San Diego. I'd love to see him come here. Oh, he signed his deal, Mike. He signed his deal. I'll just use him as a template. I don't have – Oh, no, I know that.

Okay, okay. I would love to see it. I know. I was like – Oh, no, I know that. I'm not willing to do that. That name coming across, yeah, it definitely raised my eyebrow, buddy. It made me feel good here on Locked on Patriots, as you always do.

Hunter Henry is a possibility. Except if I came, I would be shocked. Now you're really speaking my language. I'd be shocked if he doesn't get tagged by the Chargers. I'd be shocked. That's the other thing by the Chargers. I'd be shocked. That's the other thing. We won't, folks, we won't know who gets tagged. Tag season starts on February 23rd, ends on March 9th.

So, like, I try to avoid in my offseason plan, when I was naming names, I was trying to avoid players that I thought was going to get tagged. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, for example, in my wide-rooted even one, I didn't say, like, Chris Godwin or an Allen or a Kenny Gallagher that day. I think it could, you know, you could go after an Allen Robinson, right? And, like, my wide-rooted even two could be, like, a Corey Davis or a Curtis Samuel, somebody in that ilk, somebody who's not going to get tagged,

but who's going to be available to you. Right. All right? Good point. Yeah, so I don't think, for example, Matt Milano would be tagged by the Bills. Buffalo Bills. by the um by the bill buffalo bills yeah i was trying to find uh a defensive tackle besides lawrence guy and adam butler you know but i'm like well you might as

well and then the ones i who was going to get tagged you know saying or wasn't going to be really like outrageous big but big money like 15 million a year. So I said, well, you might as well just keep those two together for one. I'd rather have those two together than spend $15 million on a defensive tackle like Tomlinson, right? Because I know what those two do. I'm not sure what Tomlinson can bring. Yeah. Yeah, let's go.

No, no. And, you know, just the ability for you to be able to put that out there. And, like, hypotheticals are one thing, and we love hypotheticals, like I said. Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry, obviously. I covered those guys. I'd love to be able to cover them again here in New England. But putting things into perspective about who might be available and who might not be is something that you do.

And I think a lot of Patriots fans, myself included, even in the media, need to be reminded of that. And, you know, just because we have media credentials, folks, doesn't mean that we don't make mistakes every once in a while. And, Miguel, I love when you set the record straight. Usually I'm not on the receiving end of it, but you know what? Today you have to set me straight. Because last week, folks, here on the pod, I discussed the tender process and how they're assigned to free agents and a little bit about that background. And, you know, folks, I didn't clear it with the Pat's cap first, and I paid the price. So for the benefit of all of our listeners, especially me and my apologetic soul buddy,

walk us through how the tender process works, and will the Patriots or might the Patriots utilize that tender process this offseason? Okay, so there are three types of free agents each offseason. There's going to be the exclusive rights free agent, which basically means the team is the only team that can offer the player a contract, and then he has to sign it to play. That's the exclusive rights free agent. That's going to be Jacob Johnson. All right? All right.

So, for example, he's got two years into the NFL, so his minimum salary would be $850,000. Right. Okay. Maybe, maybe, folks, like on the day, on March 17th, which is the start of the league year, maybe his name doesn't show up on the list of exclusive free agents. Don't freak out because maybe the pay fits and him and he have agreed to a deal where he gets more than $850,000.

So maybe they give him a small signing bonus and a small off-season workout bonus as a reward for his play for the last two years. Right now, I have him on my off-season dream workbook as $850,000. I could definitely see him getting a small signing bonus and a small workout bonus as a reward. So then we have – but he's the only one we have as exclusive free agent. I mean, there's another guy, Quincy Adebejo. I butchered his last name.

He could be. He might be on the books as being the coming six-year-right free agent, but I can't imagine the Patriots tendering him. I wouldn't be surprised if he just retires on his own. Okay? And then the only restricted free agent, and that's a player who has exactly three accrued season. An accrued season is usually six games on the active roster, on the roster,

all right? But because of COVID, if you were active for one game, 2020 counted as an accrued season. You know what I'm saying? So it was a lot easier last year to get an accrued season. So you need to have three accrued seasons at the end of your deal. That's going to be J.C. Jackson. So what Mike had said, and I don't remember what exactly got wrong,

but I remember you got it wrong. Is that I talked about the tender level. Oh, you said there was a third round tender. Yeah, it was a tender. Instead of saying original round, I said third round, and I got them kind of bass-ackwards, folks. So, again, Miguel set the record straight for me, but I wanted him to set everyone straight here,

so that way we all had a better understanding of it. Continue, my friend. Okay, so there's four tender levels for a restricted free agent. The right of first refusal, original round, second round, first round. Usually the right of first refusal and original round are usually the same amount of money. That's the low end. For this year, it's going to be around $2 million. A second round tender means that if you sign the player to an offer sheet and the team has seven days to match it,

if they don't match it, you're going to give up your second round. Or if you have a second round that's better than your second round pick, you can give that up. Some people ask me this on Twitter, right? So you don't have to necessarily have your second round pick, but it has to be better than your second round pick, all right? And this thing for J.C. Jackson, I'm presuming that the Patriots, we're going to put the first round tender on J.C. Jackson.

All right? And that amount of money for him, his tender number is going to be $4.76 million. And because the cap should be lower than the 2020 cap, I think that number is not going to change no matter what the cap is. The only reason that number would change if the cap is more than $198.2 million, I'll be more than pleasantly surprised if that happens. All right? So here's the options with J.C. Jackson.

Patriots offer him a first-round tender. All right? So his choices are either to sign it, reach an extension with them, or hope that another team signs him to an offer sheet. And then the Patriots don't match and he goes to the new team. But because the Patriots have so much cap space, it'd be difficult, if not impossible, for a team to construct a deal that the Patriots could not match. Because right now, after the tender, he's already counting $4.766 million on the cap. Right? So he's already counting that. So they would have to make his first 2021 cap number something ridiculous like

$15 or $20 million. And maybe the Patriots wouldn't match. Okay? So that's what hopefully explained that. I mean, I was talking about, so like the teams who don't have a first round pick in the 2021 draft can't go on after J.C. Jackson.

Right. So that tender process ends up becoming so important in how teams are able to pursue free agents, folks. It becomes important to the Patriots for a team that ultimately, and from those that I talk to close to the team, would love to be able to retain the services of a guy like J.C. Jackson. That makes his return to Foxborough, I would say, more probable than not. But again, there's no guarantees, and Miguel's not making guarantees. I'm not making guarantees.

But at the same time, the one thing we can guarantee is that Miguel knows what he's talking about. I don't, folks. And he's always there to set the record straight for me I kid I kid I know some things I do know well thank you buddy I appreciate that see he sets the record straight but he still gives me the compliment that's why I love this man, buddy, my favorite part of having you join me here on the pod is your ability to identify those erroneous cap reports out there. Again, you caught me on one of them, but once again, being able to identify those out there. But you also keep a sharp eye on your Twitter feed and you always look for user questions, follower questions. The floor is yours, my friend. Take us all home with either setting the record straight or answering some of the burning questions that you've got here as we

close things out today on Locked On Patriots. Have at it, buddy. All yours. First thing, I want to just set the record straight. Marcus Martin is not a free agent. Steve Virgin is not a free agent. They're already signed for the 2021 season. I saw...

I'm not going to mention names now, but... He's not a free agent. They're already signed for the 2021 season. I saw her. I'm not going to mention names now. All right. So somebody, the thing I want to, and let's talk about the idea that the Patriots are going to have to overpay because they don't have a quarterback or because they're perceived to be a bad team. Okay. Folks, in free agency, the players go after the money.

That's what it is. But, like, teams, players sign with the Browns after they went 0-16. Players sign with the Lions after they went winless. People signed with the Jets last year. People signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year. All right? You can say, I love that they said the Patriots are going to have to overpay, but they don't give me, let's say, give me an example of what you thought

that would have happened. You have 20-plus years of free agency to show us that. They just say that. And I'm like, I'm looking at what the bad teams have done, okay? They've always been able to get free agents to sign. And when I'm looking at their deals that they signed the players out to, I'm not saying that they're bad. With hindsight, you could say they're bad deals.

But the time of the signing, it seemed like a fair deal for me. All right? So that's one. I'm not saying the record's fake because this is just my opinion. All right? I'm just wishing that the people who say the Patriots have to overpay could provide some facts to back up their opinion. I'm just saying that I've looked in recent years at the free agencies,

and I haven't seen anything to back it up. I can think of players who have signed with bad teams. And let's say in the idea, the other thing I want to say is the people won't, the other people are saying, players won't take less to stay with the Patriots, to go with the Patriots. Folks, Rex Burkhart took a pay cut last year. So these people are saying people are forgetting recent history. Okay?

So if players, for example, if you've been here for a long time, right, you're more likely to agree to a pay cut than uproot your family. All right? Like, for example, Matthew Slater said he's the only place the Patriots are going to play for. So, therefore, if they ask him to take a pay cut, I'm pretty sure he's going to take a pay cut. I'm not saying they will take a pay cut, but the idea that the Patriots, the players won't

take less is not proven by recent history because Rex Burkhead did that. Okay? So, I want to clear those two things up, and then I want to address a couple of things that somebody asked me. All right? This is a great question. I thought it was a great question. People ask me, like, what is a player's cap number?

All right? And I always get that question because I swear that is more than anything else. I think what Mike, I hate to say this, but the media members get wrong. Okay. No, understandable. Okay, so

what goes into a player's cap number? First thing and foremost is their salary. And then they have any off-season workout bonus. The Patriots is one of the teams that pay players

to engage in off-season workout activities. For example, Julian Edelman can earn $300,000 this year by just showing up for off-season workouts. And the fact that they're doing it over Zoom is why pretty much every player last year, every Patriot player showed up for every session.

All right. All right. Okay. So also what counts against the cap is any likely to be earned incentive. All right? For example, in this year, who has the likely to be earned incentive? This is Jonathan Jones. He has a $300,000 incentive because of his playing time.

All right? And your boy, Adrian Phillips, he has a $750,000 playing time incentive, which is why his cap number is now $4.25 million. All right? Because now he's got that playing time incentive. All right? Any weight bonuses. Weight bonuses are considered likely to be an incentive,

but because it's under the player's control, it counts against the cap. Marcus Cannon has a weight bonus. So he gets weighed three times in the offseason, and he can earn up to $100,000. That money counts against the cap. Any specific date roster bonus. So if a player has a deal and it says you're on the roster on April 1st, you get $500,000.

That $500,000 counts against the cap. Okay? Any likely to be earned active roster bonuses. Okay? For example, Jonathan Jones was active for every game. So all his active roster bonuses this year are considered likely to be earned, so he has $800,000 in them. Was he active for every game?

Hold on a minute. Let's make sure. I'm looking at that number. I'm like, maybe he wasn't. No, he was. He was. Okay. But somebody like Bo Allen, his active roster bonuses now don't count against the cap at all.

Because he wasn't active for any game last year. And then, of course, the signing bonus proration. For example, Devin McCourney, he got a signing bonus last year that got paraded over five years, so he's got a signing bonus paration for this year. That makes up the cap number. And so I wanted to explain that because I was asked that on Twitter. The other thing I wanted somebody to ask me about was what does it mean about the June 1st thing, the big thing about June 1st, okay?

So what happens is if you cut a player now, before June 1st, okay, and he has signing bonus variations in the 2022, 2023, 2024 seasons, all right? Those signing variations come off those years' caps and come on to the 2021 cap. All right? But if you cut the player off on June 2nd, all right, that dead money is just going to be this year's signing bonus for preparation and any cash he might have earned, for example, like his off-season workout bonus. All right? But in 2022, the signing bonus for 2022,

2023, or 2024 will hit that year's cap. So for most players, a good number of players who are signed for future years, it's much cheaper to come up on a cap. You have less cap debt money on this

year's cap if you wait until June 1st to do it, or during roster cutdowns to do it. All right? The other thing I want to say about cuts, okay, if you cut a player with guaranteed salary, for example, every first-round pick has guaranteed salary, like Nikhil Havi, Isaiah Wynn, et cetera, and most second-round picks got it, like Cal Dega. All right? Anytime you cut a player with a guaranteed salary,

it doesn't matter if the guaranteed salary is in the future or not. If you cut a player with a guaranteed salary, and he has a guaranteed salary in 2022, it doesn't matter if you cut him on June 1st or February 1st, June 1st, that hits this year's cap. For example, you don't like Nikhil Harry. Alright? Not only if you cut him,

alright? Like I said, if you cut him this year. Not only are you going to have on the cap his 2021, all his 2021 salary, all his 2021 signing bonus preparation, his 2020, any guaranteed

salary he has in 2022, 2023. So you're actually going to lose cap space by cutting Nikhil Harry. It doesn't affect you. If you trade him, you don't. But you lose cap space if you trade with Nikhil Harry this year. All right, because of the guaranteed salary. So that is, I think I answered everyone's thing. Folks, that would be it for my think this. I think that comes everyone's thing. Folks, that'd be it for my pick-this.

I think that comes to an end. All I want to say, folks, this should be a very interesting off-season. I'm not expecting the final cap number. Mike, I cannot believe it because I said this in a reply to someone on Friday night. I said this in a reply to someone. I said, I wouldn't be surprised if there was very little heads up on the final cap number. And then I read the story. That's what the guy from the chief said.

Oh, my God. Whatever the front office guy was saying, they might take it right up to March 17th. That might be crazy, but it might happen. So I think that's going to help. I don't know if it's going to help or hurt the lateness of the announcement. It's going to help or hurt the Patriots. I just think it's going to make that week crazy. It is going to be. And folks, it will be an interesting offseason without any question.

And any and all financial information always funneled through this great man. And we are going to continue to join us here on Locked On Patriots to get us all through what's going on. Interesting offseason. Folks, the great Miguel Benzano never disappoints when his wisdom and counsel graces the airwaves here on Locked On Patriots. I couldn't be more honored. I couldn't be more humbled.

My friend, thank you so much for joining me today. Folks, follow Miguel at Patscap on Twitter. I've called him a couple of times here today. The Patscap Top Gun. He is the Top Gun. The plaque for the alternates, it doesn't exist because he doesn't have any equal in this business, buddy. Stay safe. Stay well.

We look forward to having you back here on the pod very soon. And thanks again for helping us sort of close out the week in style here as we ride through the first full week without football. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, just say it that way. It'll be back before you know it, folks. Yeah. Oh, my God. I cannot wait. I cannot wait. I hope we get to go to training camp. I hope so.

I really do. Take care, everyone. Absolutely. Thanks, buddy. Take it easy. Take it easy. Bye-bye. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are nearly through the work week.

The weekend is within sight. But fear not, because Lockdown Patriots is still going full force, bringing you the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough, infused with my occasional opinion. And tomorrow here on the pod, we're closing the week in style by bringing you a little Friday with Fox. That's right, my good friend Tanya Rae Fox of FS1 drops by the pod and we'll be talking the latest Patriots rumors when it comes to quarterbacks.

We'll probably sprinkle in a little Tom Brady talk. And you never quite know where the conversation might lead when Tanya drops by the pod. It's always my pleasure to share the microphone with her and I know you'll find it fun, informative, and definitely entertaining. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download and subscribe to the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as radio.com, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.

Just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Miguel Benzon, the Pats cap himself, for his time, his insight and his appearance today. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part

of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough Faithful, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.