Some would say it’s a coincidence that the Patriots signed quarterback Cam Newton before resolving a pair of grievances that freed up $7 million in cap space, at a time when the Patriots were cap strapped. Others would say that, with the Patriots, there are no coincidences.
Consider the timeline. Newton’s bargain-basement deal, with a base salary of $1.05 million and an upside of $7.5 million that requires him to essentially be both the regular-season MVP and the Super Bowl MVP to earn all of it, gets finalized, and then the Antonio Brown and Aaron Hernandez grievances get resolved.