This the information that the rabid mediots have had for a LONG time yet refuse to let the public know. THEY keep harping on the guaranteed dollars and telling us, "if only the Pats had gone a few million higher they Revis would have come back" NOTHING can be further from the truth for 4 reasons.
1. It was the structure of the deal that made it impossible to match. A 16MM cap # in 2015 would have given Revis a $21MM cap number. Think about it. Even AFTER shedding Revis' $20MM, AFTER Browner's $5MM and Vince's $8MM....AND DA's restructure the Pats were STILL only $10-12MM under the cap. There is no question that some significant cuts would have had to happen. Just look at the wholesale slaughter going on in Miami to get Suh on board. It wouldn't have been THAT bad, but some people would have to go and we'd be struggling just to get our draft class signed and stay under the cap.
The Pats could have matched the numbers, but their structure would have had to backload the deal, rather than front load it like the Jets could afford to do.....and even then it wouldn't have been sound cap management, but at least it would have been doable.
2. The Pats, who have drafted well recently have some big bills to pay future core players like Solder, Hightower, Collins, Jones, and Gronk.....and that's just a start. MAYBE, just maybe they might have been able to keep everyone for 2016, but beyond that it would have given the Pats a roster that was fine at the top, but thin at the bottom....and that's NOT what they believe will allow you to win in the NFL.
3. The fact remained that had the Pats matched or come closer to the Jets offer, they simply would have offer MORE. This was more than just getting a good player. This about regaining some credibility in their own market, competition with the Giants for media coverage, and holding on to their season ticket holder base, who was on the verge of revolt. There was no way they weren't going to top the Pats best offer....and they did. If you want to criticize the Pats, criticize them for not getting the Jets to give Revis even more
4. And this is the most important reason. Revis WANTS to be in NY. Its as simple as that. All things being equal, Revis was going back to NY Contrary to the popular wisdom of that time, everyone thought that if the Pats were merely close, he'd come back to win championships. That was NOT the case.
Revis is a HOF player. He's a great teammate and a hard worker. But he's also wired differently. It doesn't make him a bad person, just different. And I don't think it was just about the money. He got his ring and all the creditability to his legacy that brings. He doesn't need another. Winning the superbowl probably hurt the Pats chances of bringing him back.
So instead of being the 4th or 5th most important person in NE (after BB, Kraft, Brady,and Gronk), he could be THE face of the entire franchise. Much bigger than the owner, coach or any player. Not only that, he can take most of the credit for any and all improvements to that franchise. And God forbid, if they, by some miracle, ever win a superbowl during the next 5 years, imagine what his legacy would be then. Compare that to being "an important piece of a puzzle" here in NE.
It was that "possibility" that made it easy for him to go back to NJ. There WAS no comparison to his way of thinking. The evidence was there for all to see, but going back to the Jets seemed just so....so....ludicrous and illogical that we couldn't see the forest for the trees.
The crime here (beyond the Jets tampering), is that the media HAS the full story, yet they still subject us to the same old Borges/Felger/Shaunnessy/etc position, over and over and over and over again
