Next time someone accuses the New England Patriots of being cheap, point them to this article.
The New England Patriots voluntarily gave signing bonuses to running back James White and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy after both players came up just short of earning contract incentives last season, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported.
White would have earned $250,000 if he had played 60 percent of offensive snaps and registered 1,200 total yards. White played 53.6 percent of offensive snaps and had 1,176 total yards. The Patriots recently gave White a $250,000 signing bonus and spread it out on the salary cap over the next two years.
Guy would have earned $400,000 for playing 50 percent of defensive snaps. He was on the field for 49.6 percent of snaps. The Patriots gave Guy a $400,000 signing bonus and also spread it out on the cap over the next two years.
This actually worked out well for both parties. If Guy and White had hit their incentives, that entire $650,000 would have counted against the Patriots’ 2018 salary cap, which would have subtracted carry-over money to their 2019 spending allotment. The players get their money anyway, and now the Patriots can spread it out over two years, giving them more salary cap space in 2019. That’s a win-win.
