Patriots owner Robert Kraft has chance to prove he is willing to spend this offseason

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has heard the narratives about his team not spending enough money on players, and he wants you to know it's not because he isn't authorizing money. In fact, he says he has wanted the team to spend more money on players. 

This offseason he will have a chance to put his money where his mouth is. 

The Patriots ranked last in the NFL in cash spending over the past decade, coming in at $1.62 billion according to Roster Management System (via ESPN), which tracks team spending and every NFL contract. 

But Kraft pushed back on the narrative that lack of spending was any sort of a directive or philosophy from him. 

Along with pointing out the team's success over the past decade, including three Super Bowl titles, he said on Thursday that his coaching staff and front office have always been able to get whatever they want in terms of cash, and that former head coach Bill Belichick was always looking long-term and thinking about value. 

"I think Bill was always thinking about the future and really understood value," said Kraft, via NBC Boston. "But we never held back with any of the 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. Winning football games, after my family, is the most important thing in my life. Whatever we can do to help make that happen, we’re going to do."

Kraft went on to say that there have been instances over the years where he has wanted the team to spend more on certain players even if it wouldn't have been the best investment or long-term value. Belichick, however, was quick to point out the team's lack of spending following the 2022 season. 

While he didn't say anything overly critical, those comments do tend to point to a philosophical disagreement that he may have had with Belichick over how to best build the roster. All of that might explain, at least in part, why the two sides were so willing to go their separate directions after the 2023 season.

The bottom line is this: The Patriots have new coaches and new people running their football operation this season, and they have an immense amount of salary cap space (nearly $70 million) to play with going into the offseason. If Kraft is truly serious about wanting to spend and giving his staff the freedom to do so, they have a real opportunity to dramatically improve their team. 

If they come back in 2024 without spending big again, the common denominator will be pretty easy to spot.