Are the Patriots cheap? The prevailing opinion is that, yes, they are traditionally tight with a buck.

There are charts and tables to back it up, including this kickass Reddit post from 2023 by one of the myriad Patriots fans who’s good at the numbers and spreadsheets (better than this English major by a damn sight).

More traditional sources, like the estimable Mike Reiss, pointed out last offseason that the Patriots were 32nd in cash spending over the previous 10 years.

The conversation understandably drives owner Robert Kraft absolutely batcrap. 

He addressed it directly last February, saying, “I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending," Kraft said. "Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true. Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship."

"They say we've been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true. But we had a pretty good record. And we won three Super Bowls. But our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted. I think Bill (Belichick) was always thinking about the future and really understood value. But we never held back with any of the coaches we’ve had over the last 30 years.

"They’ve been able to get whatever they want. If cash spending became an issue for our family, and we couldn’t do it, then I would sell the team. Winning football games, after my family, is the most important thing in my life. Whatever we can do to help make that happen, we’re going to do."

One of the primary reasons the Patriots were able to keep cash flow relatively low for most of the 2010s was Tom Brady’s annual acceptance of below-market deals. Brady made $157.174 million in cash from 2010 through 2019. That’s $4 million less than the Bengals will pay Ja’Marr Chase for the next four years of service.

In short, there’s some nuance. But nuance gets in the way of a good radio show, so facts are facts, numbers are numbers and the Patriots were not spendthrifts when they were stacking Lombardis.

And this decade? They’re spending. Ironically, they aren’t stacking Lombardis. But a confluence of factors has forced them to spend in ways they never did.

First, their horrible drafting has twice sent them into free agency to plug roster holes (2021 and 2025). Secondly, with no free agent options, they handed out some eye-popping deals to their own players (2024).

Where’s the proof of this spending? I’ll show you. It’s a little dense, but hang in there.

The CBA compels teams to spend IN CASH at least 90 percent of the combined salary cap over a specific period. The most recent was a three-year period (2021 through 2023).

Now, the Patriots' numbers you’ll see below (all in millions), won’t match the league-wide cap number for given years, because every team gets its own allocation based on how much money it “rolls over” from the previous season.

Money rolled over is added to that year’s baseline cap number. Regardless of how much a team rolls over, it still has to spend at least 90 percent of its own total adjusted cap for the three-year period.

The Patriots, it turns out, spent 99.8 percent of cash ($637.1 million) relative to their adjusted cap ($638.4 million) from 2021-23. That was thanks in large part to the $234.6 million shelled out in 2021 free agency.

Logically, their cash spending slowed as they tried to find if their new toys worked. Many did not. Here you go:

Patriots guaranteed salary floor of 90 percent

• 90 percent: $574.2 million

Percent of cash spent relative to cap

• 99.8 percent

Now onto the current period, this year’s spending spree and what’s on the horizon for this three-year window closing in 2026.

Currently, the Patriots find themselves with the league’s biggest chunk of cap space, even after going hog wild in free agency. They’re there for a humiliating pair of reasons.

First, drafting ineptitude. They haven’t developed their own players. As a result, no lucrative second contracts on the books at big-ticket spots like quarterback, wide receiver, edge rusher, left tackle or cornerback. It’s literally difficult to spend to the cap because they don’t have enough good players.

Which brings us to Reason No. 2: Perceived rudderlessness.

After back-to-back 4-13 seasons under Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo, that ol’ Patriots shine is gone. It was a hard sell last year for free agents when they saw no quarterback, a first-year head coach, first-time offensive coordinator and on and on. Plus, the free agent class was meager.

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So the team said, “Screw it …” and signed several of their own guys to wild deals. They literally had to spend it somewhere, so they paid their guys.

But while Christian Barmore (four years, $84 million), Kyle Dugger (four years, $58 million), Rhamondre Stevenson (four years, $36 million) and Mike Onwenu (three years, $57 million) are capable, none are even among the top 10 in the league at their position. The team struggled again, misery became more entrenched and another change was made.

This year -- even with the persuasiveness of an established head coach in Mike Vrabel and a more stable coaching staff (not to mention a captivating quarterback) -- it’s still takes cash and convincing.

But their bankroll has been the biggest convincer. Having rolled nearly $35 million of unused cap into 2025, the Patriots had $322 million in adjusted salary cap to play with.

They’ve used a pile, as you’ll see below. But a pile remains.

The Patriots have more time to work in free agency. They could even pull off a trade for a big-ticket receiver. Chances are, though, they’re going to wind up rolling plenty of 2025 cash into 2026.

Yay?? Well, kind of. Finally, by next offseason, the team can start laying groundwork for a Christian Gonzalez extension. And, with a more representative performance in 2025, maybe they’re a more attractive free agent destination.