In a recent #LongRead article from ESPN.com, it was claimed that the Falcons had expressed interest in hiring Bill Belichick and that this would have offset the $25 million annual salary owed to him by the Kraft family. However, a league source has stated that these claims are not accurate.
The source explained that highly-compensated coaches often receive compensation from related companies to control overall coaching-salary expenses, but there would not have been a direct offset of any amount owed to Belichick by the Patriots for 2024. Additionally, the source stated that there was no evidence to suggest that Robert Kraft provided Arthur Blank with negative information about Belichick that influenced Blank’s decision not to hire him.
This raises questions about why Kraft would prevent himself from reducing his financial obligation to Belichick if Belichick had accepted a position with the Falcons. The conflicting claims suggest that Kraft may have been willing to fulfill the full financial obligation to Belichick in order to prevent him from succeeding with the Falcons.
While it is unlikely that Kraft would attempt to avoid paying Belichick in order to hinder his chances of obtaining another job, the conflicting information presented in the report regarding financial obligations and Kraft’s interactions with Blank raises doubts about the validity of these claims. Ultimately, it remains unclear what motivated these actions on both sides.
