Bedard: Patriots should do the right thing and adjust Cam Newton's contract ... eventually

The Patriots potentially have one of the greatest all-time bargains if Cam Newton leads the team to the playoffs.

The Patriots could have the best QB in the division, and a top-10 talent in the NFL, and are paying him $1.05 million in base salary, of which just $550,000 is guaranteed. His cap number of $1.137 million ranks behind such illustrious Patriots names as Jermaine Eluemunor, Justin Bethel, Terrence Brooks, Cody Davis, Shilique Calhoun, Brandon King and the team's last two second-round picks, who have accomplished nothing in their short careers: Joejuan Williams and Kyle Dugger.

It's ridiculous.

It's also a little embarrassing now that the team has about $35 million in cap space after magically settling their grievances with Antonio Brown and the estate of Aaron Hernandez days after Newton signed his contract, and the Covid-19 opt-outs.

Yes, there are incentives in the deal that give Newton's contract a maximum value of $7.5 million. But, realistically, Newton will make $6 million if he's the starter, leads the team to the playoffs and is named to the Pro Bowl (only if there is one).

That's not a truly terrible deal, but it's a bit insulting when you consider that all of the first-round rookies this year average more per season, and Mitch Trubisky, Daniel Jones, Marus Mariota and Taysom Hill are among those that do as well.

That's not right.

Yes, the Patriots should drive a hard bargain because business is business, but everyone knows that without the hurdles associated with Covid-19, Newton would have been signed as a starter by another team. More importantly, other players know this. And the good thing is Bill Belichick knows that players know this. There is perhaps no GM in the game who is more in tune with the locker room dynamics when it comes to finances.



Last year, I said the same thing about Julian Edelman's contract ... and later on, Edelman did get a new deal. That laid the groundwork for the Patriots to add Antonio Brown and pay him that mind-boggling signing bonus. Without the Edelman extension, the Brown deal (or maybe another one that actually would have benefitted the team and kept the offense from having the potency of a Pop Warner double-wing offense) couldn't have happened.

Belichick knows this better than anyone. It's not rocket science when you're dealing with professional athletes who, believe it or not, are not always "just about winning" or "playing for the fans."

I would expect Belichick to tweak Newton's contract at some point, because Belichick knows that can benefit the team in many different ways:



No. 1: It would tell the locker room Newton is the guy and he'll be leading them for the rest of the season. It would do away with any notion of a quarterback competition, or that Jarrett Stidham is waiting in the wings to take over should Newton struggle. Now, that may indeed be true and Belichick would never hesitate to do what's right for the team, but the team doesn't need to head into an already strange season possibly waiting for another shoe to drop at quarterback. It would give the team some peace of mind and allow them to fully invest in doing their job.

Also, if say Newton and/or Stidham are not ready to start the season and Brian Hoyer has to while the others get up to speed, Newton being better compensated may keep Newton more in line and the team from panicking.

No. 2: It would give the players even more respect for Belichick. Not that they don't already have it, but doing right by Newton would be viewed very positively in the locker room. The players aren't dummies. They know Newton got screwed on his contract. They also know the team miraculously became flush with cap space like the day after Newton signed his contract, and has only come into better shape with the opt-outs. If the players see Belichick show Newton more respect by bringing his contract in line with the rest of the team (anything with a cap hit over $6.5 million would place him fifth on the team and ahead of Mohamed Sanu), that will bring the coach even more cache in a locker room. After Tom Brady's messy exit, that could be needed a bit right now.

No. 3: It could set up a longer relationship with Newton. If Belichick continues to drive a hard bargain with Newton after he wins the job, how is the QB going to react to being tagged after this season? Since a two-year average (this year and on the tag) would still have an AAV that would rank in the bottom third of the league, Newton would be a little rankled and could play the role of unhappy camper and orchestrate a trade. If Belichick does right by Newton now, and then tags Newton ... it might go a little better and set him up to be the long-term answer at quarterback.

No. 4: It would free up the Patriots to add any other player at any time. As we were first to point, New England right now is hamstrung when it comes to adding another player due to Newton's contract. Belichick knows better than anyone that if, say, he signed Jadeveon Clowney to a $10 million contract right now (I doubt he does), Newton would understandably be irate behind the scenes and it could spread to others in the locker room because Newton is that influential among players. If the Patriots gave Newton the cash for all his incentives now and tacked on a few more that could raise him to the $10-12 million level, the Patriots would be free and clear to add any player at any time, including if they needed someone to put the team over the top at the trade deadline.

Do I expect this to happen right now? No, not really. It makes zero sense for the team to hand Newton a wad of cash right now, before they've even had a padded practice. The jury is still out on Newton and, especially, his shoulder. What if Newton can't handle the New England offense? What if the self-proclaimed wanna-be icon never gets comfortable as a plebe in Belichick's military school for football? The Patriots don't want another situation similar to Brown, where they give out a big bonus before you even know if the player will stick.

As soon as Newton wins the job, likely some time in late August or early September, that's when the Patriots should do right by Newton and adjust his contract. There's no downside to it, and much to be gained.

If you're worried about NFL contract rules, I asked Joel Corry, the former agent and cap expert, if there were any rules against it.

"No. The first renegotiation can occur at any time. Theoretically, the Patriots could approach Cam about re-doing his contract so all of his incentives were removed and put into base salary while also giving him the $5 million bonus you mentioned."

When Newton becomes The Man for the Patriots, it makes too much sense not to pay The Man.