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Patriots, Bill Belichick reportedly agreed to 'lucrative' new contract in offseason

Liz Roscher
Staff writer
·2 min read
358

No matter how many people say he's on the hot seat, Bill Belichick's chair appears to be as cold as ice.

The New England Patriots and owner Robert Kraft reportedly signed their longtime head coach to a new lucrative contract over the offseason, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Further details like length and salary have not been revealed.

The news of this contract becoming public at this moment is very timely. The Patriots are struggling this season in a way they never have under Belichick. They entered Sunday 1-5 and quarterback Mac Jones was benched in two of his past three starts. On a larger scale, Belichick is 19-21 since Brady left three years ago. Given all of this, reports have been swirling about Belichick's job security for the past few weeks.

News of this contract will likely put an end to speculation that Belichick is being pushed out the door, but it also brings up multiple interesting questions. When did Kraft and Belichick agree to this contract? Why wasn't it announced at the time? And, more importantly, what is this contract for?

ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 01: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks on before kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on October 1, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Patriots have reportedly signed longtime head coach Bill Belichick to a "lucrative" new contract. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Rapoport reported that it's "new" and "lucrative," but does it keep Belichick in the head coach role exclusively? Does it allow for him to move to an advisory role if Kraft decided to make a change? Can Kraft even make a head coaching change independently, or is Belichick the one who decides when it's time to hang it up?

Kraft said in March 2023 that he would like for Belichick to break Don Shula's all-time wins record of 347 total victories (regular season and playoffs), but said he wasn't "looking for any of our players to get great stats." At the time, Belichick was in second place with 329 wins and needed 19 more to overtake Shula.

Six months later, it's Week 7 of the NFL and Belichick entered Sunday needing 18 wins to pass Shula to become the winningest NFL coach of all time. Unless those wins start coming a little faster for Belichick, one contract might not be enough for him to get it done.