Best and worst contracts on the Patriots

Two of these three have some interesting contracts  (Doug Kyed - NESN)

Contractual perfection has been a constant standard for the New England Patriots. They don't overpay for players that they could replace with cheaper alternatives, and avoid overpaying their own free agents if the dollars don't make sense. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, took a look at some of the best and worst contracts and came up with a few conclusions.

For his best contract, Fitzgerald deemed RT Sebastian Vollmer as the best value. While he did consider Tom Brady's contract, he thought that Brady was a player unlike any other in his dedication and sacrifice to the team for taking less money so the Patriots can sign other players. That is why he chose Vollmer. For Vollmer, it was a four year, $27 million maximum contract, with a laundry list of play time incentives in case of injury, like the one he sustained last year.



Field Yates of ESPN Boston broke down his contract, highlighting his low base salaries, and his multiple play time and Pro Bowl incentives. Fitzgerald notes that this is an ideal contract for an injury potentialed player, who can play at a Pro Bowl level when healthy. With his signing bonus being a fairly small amount of $7 million, he also opens himself up to be cut with minimal damage to the cap as well if he cannot stay healthy. Both sides benefit from this deal, and can cover themselves should injuries ultimately derail such a promising offensive linemen.

On the other hand, LG Logan Mankins' deal is a bit more for the Patriots to take on. In 2011, the uncapped year lead players to plunder NFL front offices league-wide, as noted by Fitzgerald. Mankins was one of those beneficiaries. Due to the Patriots fearing he would leave due to the demand in the open market the Patriots overpaid.

OTC:

Mankins ended up being paid as the top interior lineman in the league at a time when he was not the best at his position. Usually the Patriots don’t give in with such players, but they did here. Mankins would receive $30.5 million in the first three years of the contracts, a total that was in a different stratosphere than Jahri Evans ($25.6M), Eric Steinbach ($23M), and Davin Joseph ($21.5M), other top compensated players at the position. The Patriots included a huge $20 million signing bonus that virtually guaranteed four years of the contract. - Jason Fitzgerald

His cap hit this year is a staggering $10.5 million, and will be the same next year as well. Those numbers make him the second largest cap hit amongst guards in the NFL. Unfortunately, his play has not been that of the second best guard in the league. Mankins' play has steadily declined in the last several years, partly due to injuries he's played through, but also due to his age as well. At one point in time he was one of the best.



But those days are behind him, and the numbers just don't add up favorably for the Patriots.

So what could happen to Mankins? With Darrelle Revis likely commanding a large chunk of the salary cap, and the desire to also extend Stephen Gostowski and Devin McCourty, amongst others, Mankins could be playing his last year in Foxborough this year. With the Patriots drafting interior linemen like Bryan Stork and Jon Halapio, the emergence of young Josh Kline, and the potential re-signing of Marcus Cannon, Logan Mankins becomes expendable. While some may say he should take a reduced salary, anyone who knows the type of person Mankins is knows his pride and attitude would not take that thought kindly. His ferocity and intensity will long be remembered by Patriots fans young and old, but Logan Mankins' career with the Patriots could very well be coming to a close.

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