In 2009, Stephen Ross purchased the Miami Dolphins. While it's impossible to categorize anything the Dolphins have done under his stewardship as successful — zero division titles, zero playoff wins, zero Super Bowl appearances — few can argue with the man's willingness to spend. Miami has placed second, first, first, and first over the last four years in the NFLPA's yearly survey grading each franchise's accommodations for their players.
About 1,500 miles northeast, the New England Patriots have enjoyed far more success due to the unmistakable prevalence of one factor and one factor alone: luck. They've ranked 24th, 29th, 31st, and 26th on the player survey over the last four years, with players questioning ownership's financial commitment to winning. They've only been top-13 spenders on their roster once out of the last five seasons (Miami's been top-13 each season).
Yet luck still favors Bawston for some unfathomable reason. It wasn't enough that in the scrapheap of poor souls who have tried (and failed) to turn around the Cleveland Browns, they found a Hall of Fame coach in Bill Belichick. The franchise went on to unearth the most successful quarterback of all time with the measly investment of a sixth-round draft pick. Because of course they did. That doesn't absolve them from the roasting they deserve, though.
The Patriots are grabbing headlines again, and this time, it's because of their refusal to open up the checkbook for their second-round draft pick, Gabe Jacas. The rookie holdout has become somewhat archaic in the days of wage-scaled contracts, but leave it to the petty Patriots to be in an absurd contractual standoff with a player they drafted just two months ago.
The Miami Dolphins have their own issues, but at least they aren't strong-arming their draft pick like the Patriots
These are the basics: Jacas missed the NFL Combine due to injury. He was able to stage a Pro Day workout after the fact, but teams unearthed a torn labrum and a stress fracture in his foot. None of this was a secret from NFL franchises, and the Patriots drafted him anyway. Now, Jacas is the lone second-round draft pick yet to be signed, as New England is slow-playing his contract to see if he will get healthy.
This is highly unusual in the modern NFL. What makes it more baffling is that the contract in question is a whopping four-year deal in the range of $8.6 million total. In other words, just about one million more than they paid DeVante Parker for 33 catches, 394 yards, and zero TDs in 2023. This is pocket change for NFL owners, yet the Patriots are deciding to take a stand on this issue. The morality.
It shouldn't surprise anyone. This is the same franchise that is suing its host city (Foxboro) for attempting to charge them $1 million in licensing fees to pay for things like security at the games. The same franchise whose future Hall of Fame coach, the aforementioned Belichick, accused of making his life more difficult with their refusal to spend when he was in charge. And yes, the very same franchise whose ownership piloted a documentary series that artfully diluted their head coach's contributions while building up the owner's legacy.
For all of that dysfunction, the Patriots have gone to more Super Bowls this century than I care to count, and are on the heels of a season where each "formidable" team they faced was struck with an inconceivable calamity at the perfect moment for New England to benefit. That is, except for the Seattle Seahawks, who delivered their well-deserved pantsing on the grandest of stages, to America's collective catharsis.
Surely, Stephen Ross' spending and willingness to do everything in his power to see Miami win will pay off eventually. He tried importing the Patriot Way with Brian Flores, but the rabbit-footed, horseshoe-clad leprechaun responsible for all of their success stayed behind. Here's to hoping the Dolphins are finally creating some luck of their own.
If there's one thing fans can agree on: they're due.
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