New England Patriots: Julian Edelman congratulates Jimmy Garoppolo on massive contract

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman congratulated his old teammate, Jimmy Garoppolo, on his massive contract extension on Twitter.

Former New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is becoming a very rich man.

The potential franchise quarterback has re-signed with the San Fransisco 49ers on a five-year, $137.5 million contract – the richest deal in NFL history. Garoppolo was set to hit the open market as a free agent but now signed away on a deal that will earn him $74 million guaranteed.

Garoppolo’s former teammate, wide receiver Julian Edelman, took to Twitter to congratulate the 26-year old quarterback on his new contract, with some humor of course.

Garoppolo spent his first three-and-a-half seasons of his career in New England, winning his only two starts while flashing serious potential. The 49ers were able to acquire Garoppolo near the deadline for a second-round pick, as Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady was still playing at an MVP level at 40 years old.

After landing in San Fransisco, Garoppolo started five games for the 1-10 49ers, posting a perfect 5-0 record. His 1,250 passing yards in his first four starts with his new team were the most in NFL history.

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In total, the quarterback finished with 1,560 passing yards and seven touchdowns in six games with a 96.2 quarterback rating.

After a great start to his 49ers career, general manager John Lynch made it very clear to Ian Rapoport he wanted Garoppolo as his long-term franchise quarterback. Here’s what he had to say.

"“When you find the right guy at that position, it’s really good for your franchise. We believe we’ve found the right guy. Now the challenge is getting Jimmy signed. We’re working hard towards that. We’ll see. I think he wants to be with us and we want him there. I think it makes too much sense not to happen. So it’s just a matter of getting it done.”"

The return for New England in the Garoppolo deal still seems shockingly cheap, as the second round pick will fall to either No. 41 or 43 (depending on a coin flip between Oakland and San Fransisco).

An ESPN story in early January stated that owner Robert Kraft demanded coach Bill Belichick to trade Garoppolo to show loyalty to Brady. Belichick then dealt the young gunslinger to a team he respected and thought he could perform with. With his connection to 49ers head coach Kyle Shannahan, Belichick pulled the trigger on the move.

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This move caused the apparent “rift” between Kraft, Belichick and Brady that the story centered around, stating that the three’s time together is almost up.