Tom Brady Restructures Contract, How Can New England Patriots Use Extra Money?

Tom Brady has restructured his contract to help the New England Patriots remain a championship caliber team in the past. That's why, when Brian McIntyre of Mac's Football Blog broke the news that Brady had restructured his deal once again, it didn't come as much of a surprise.

But the question remains: How can the New England Patriots use the extra money?

Big Splash

The Patriots aren't known for making big splashes in free agency, but have done so in the past.

And with an extra $7.2 million in cap space now, it would seem like the perfect time to do a cannonball into the free agency pool.

Not so fast, writes Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, who caught up with Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Thursday afternoon.

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Asked Kraft if fans should expect a big move from Brady's restructure. "Remember, we’re in the business of quality depth management."

— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) March 22, 2012"

Even in the midst of making eight moves over the past nine days, the Patriots haven't made any really big moves (unless you want to count Brandon Lloyd, which was all but certain). 

While none of those signings were bank-breaking deals—Lloyd's $4 million-per-year average being the highest—the money adds up. Now the Patriots can rest easy knowing they have a bit more breathing room.

But there is a rather small elephant in the room.

Wes Welker

It would only make sense if the money gained from Brady's new restructured deal went to his favorite target.

The Patriots don't have to worry about Welker's short-term future with the team, as he'll be with the Patriots for 2012 no matter what happens, but the money freed up by Brady's restructured deal might give the team a bit more room to lock up Welker for the foreseeable future.

I'm sure nothing would make Brady happier.

Future Issues

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss points out that the Patriots could use the money yet another way: Addressing future contract issues before they become issues at all.

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By creating more space this year, the Patriots open up an option where they can potentially address contracts of players who will be a priority in the near future, and do so by offering a larger base salary in 2012 instead of an up-front signing bonus. 

That could help from a cash-flow perspective. So, as an example, let's say the Patriots were thinking of pursuing contract extensions with tight ends Rob Gronkowski (expires at end of 2013) and Aaron Hernandez (expires at end of 2013). 

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Over the past few years, the Patriots have had to deal with big contracts for Vince Wilfork and Logan Mankins, partly because the team opted to wait until the last minute before addressing those players' long term futures. The extra money could be seen as a luxury with which the Patriots could address the long-term futures of other key players before they become free agents.

So clearly, the Patriots have options in how to use their new-found money.

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