Bill Belichick Outlines Patriots Spending Problems In ‘Taxachusetts’

The New England Patriots no longer have major draws such as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to recruit players to Foxboro to help build capable rosters.

On top of that, they still have to deal with the same obstacles that Belichick encountered himself during his nearly quarter-century tenure as head coach and general manager of the Patriots.

When players weigh the financial side of their suitors, state income tax can often become a major factor. The Patriots just saw that again in recent months when productive wideout Calvin Ridley chose, among several factors, the Tennessee Titans over New England in free agency.

As Belichick knows, that's no new obstacle for the Patriots in the northeast.

"That's Taxachusetts," Belichick shared on the "Pat McAfee Show" on Monday. "Virtually every player, even the practice squad, even the minimum players are pretty close to $1 million. Once you hit the $1 million threshold, you pay more state tax in Massachusetts. Just another thing you've got to contend with in negotiations up there. It's not like Tennessee or Florida or Nevada. Some of these teams have no state income tax. You get hit pretty hard on that with the agents."

With talent that the Patriots will need to add in the coming years of the rebuild, the front office will have to get creative to bring in players despite lack of draw and regional finances.