The New England Patriots have a laundry list of players set to hit free agency once the season wraps up, but that list shortened last week when they signed do-it-all safety Adrian Phillips to a three-year contract extension. The move came as a surprise, but not because it wasn’t deserved.
Not only was the timing unusual, but how often do you see the Patriots reward overachieving players who are approaching or are beyond their age-30 season (Phillips will turn 30 in March)? The answer is almost never.
However, fans are thrilled Bill Belichick broke this trend for Phillips, who’s become one of the team’s most important defensive players.
The best part about Phillips’ new deal? Well, the full details were just revealed and believe us when we tell you it’s a steal.
Adrian Phillips' extension details:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 7, 2022
Signing bonus: $4.75M
2022 salary: $1.12M (gtd)
2023 salary: $1.65M (injury gtd)
2024 salary: $1.65M
Per-game bonuses:
2022: $850K ($50K/game)
2023: $1.275M ($75k/game)
2024: $1.275M
Workout bonus:
2022: $30K
2023: $75K
2024: $75K
Patriots safety Adrian Phillips’ contract details have been revealed.
Talk about a bargain, right? This remind anyone of Patrick Chung’s team-friendly deals before his retirement?
Phillips made a Pro Bowl with the Chargers back in 2018, but he’s taken his game to a new level with the Patriots. Take a look at his snap distribution. There might not be a more versatile defender in the NFL. Of his 814 snaps this year, only 462 (56.7%) have been in coverage as a safety or slot corner.
Since signing as a free agent in 2020, Phillips has appeared in all 32 games for the Patriots. This season alone, he’s played the fifth-most snaps of any defender and ranks third on the team in tackles (81), fourth in pass breakups (eight), tied for second in interceptions (four) and fifth in tackles for loss (three).
So, what convinced Phillips to sign a new deal?
"“Really just the culture,” Phillips told the media after Sunday’s win. “I’ve talked about this before but from the outside in you get this stigma about Foxborough, like there’s no fun here, blah, blah, blah, whatever it is. And then you get here and you see like, ‘Ah, it ain’t like that at all.’ It’s really just hard work. You do your job, you win games, you have fun going to the postseason.”"
The Patriots have signed Adrian Phillips to a 3 year extension, per @caplannfl
— PFF NE Patriots (@PFF_Patriots) January 1, 2022
Phillips is PFF's 6th highest graded Safety this season with an overall grade of 81.4🔥 pic.twitter.com/ScH9PBHtQO
Music to our ears.
Getting back to the contract, Phillips has the chance to earn $15.5 million for the next four years (2021-2024), with about half ($7.25 million) guaranteed. Here are his projected cap numbers during that span.
- 2021: $5.4 million
- 2022: $3.18 million
- 2023: $4.18 million
- 2024: $4.18 million
Just ridiculously low numbers for someone who is undoubtedly a top six or seven most important player on the roster. We’d say we’re surprised, but Belichick has mastered the art of negotiating team-friendly contracts.
Should Patriots consider contract extension for Damien Harris?
Damien Harris has surprisingly been one of the best running backs in the NFL this season. Should the New England Patriots extend him?