Robert Kraft Clears Air On Patriots Spending Habits: ‘Never Held Back’

In Las Vegas for the "NFL Honors" show, Patriots owner Robert Kraft took the time to refute the notion he was unwilling to spend money on the team, according to The Athletic's Chad Graff.

Kraft sent a message to the fans and did so without throwing former head coach Bill Belichick under the bus.

"I know there's a perception that we have held back on spending," Kraft said. "Let me just say to our fans, that's just not true. Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship. They say we've been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true, but we had a pretty good record. We won three Super Bowls."

Kraft added: "But we never held back with any of our coaches we've had over the last 30 years. They've been able to get whatever they want. If cash spending became an issue for our family, and we couldn't do it, then I would sell the team. ... I can assure our fans that spending will never be held back or the reason we don't sign players."

Belichick refuted the notation that cash spending was a relevant metric back in August when he explained how New England couldn't sustain the 20 years of success the Patriots had if they had overspent each year.