Bill Belichick knows players want to be Patriots, so he dominates negotiations

Leverage is an important thing in NFL negotiations. And for the New England Patriots, 16 years of dominance has given them a lot of leg-up on the competition when it comes to signing talent.

In an article by Robert Klemko of Sports Illustrated’s MMQB, he spoke to several agents representing NFL players and most expressed how frustrating it can be to negotiate with the team. Players want to play for the Patriots and win games, and New England knows that.

“It’s simple,” Belichick tells agents on the phone, according to Klemko. “Does your guy want to win a Super Bowl, or doesn’t he?”

Belichick, 64, has been the team’s head coach since 2000 and is one of the few NFL coaches who also controls football operations. As de facto general manager, he has final say on player personnel and has a central role at the negotiating table.

And it can be a little intense.

“In Bill’s world, if you do what he wants, he likes you,” says one agent who has known the coach for decades. “If you don’t, you’re an a------.”

Among the examples cited in the article was defensive end Chris Long, a former No. 2 overall pick of the St. Louis Rams who recorded 50.5 sacks in his first six seasons before finished 2014 and 2015 with four sacks, combined. He was released and received interest from the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Atlanta Falcons in free agency, but knew exactly where he wanted to be.

Long signed a one-year, $2.375 million deal with New England, but told Klemko this week that he would’ve signed it for five dollars.

“They’re a nightmare for agents,” an agent told Klemko, “because you know that if your player wants to play for the Patriots, they’re going to take the discount.”

The NFL is built to punish winners — giving them lesser draft picks and eventually cycling talent to other teams when free agency forces top teams to make tough decisions to stay under the salary cap. But the Patriots have 16 consecutive winning seasons and are headed to a seventh Super Bowl under Belichick.

It’s a heck of a formula for New England. They win so much that players will accept less money to win with them.