Fourthought: The Patriots, Milton Williams and the stoogery of the guaranteed NFL contract
We’re all happy that the Patriots have signed Milton Williams. But thanks to Mike Florio, it’s once again time to call out the complete stoogery of the “guaranteed” NFL contract.
The only guarantee, after all, is that NFL contracts are never what they seem.
According to multiple reports, Williams signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Patriots that included $63 million guaranteed. Based on how the NFL works, the chance of him seeing the full $104 million is about one percent or less – and that’s not even the part that should frustrate you. The part that’s more annoying is the suggestion that $63 million of Williams’ contract is “guaranteed” when it really isn’t guaranteed at all.
So listen to this: Of Williams’ $63 million “guarantee,” the final $12 million of that comes in the former of a roster bonus that is guaranteed only for injury and will not be fully guaranteed until the third day of new league year … in 2027. Got that? In other words, if the Patriots cut Williams by roughly this time in 2027 for anything other than a major injury, he won’t see that $12 million under the terms of this contract.
As a result, the fully guaranteed portion of the deal is only $51 million over two years.
Now back to the injury “guarantee – and completely bull crap nature of it. Think about it … if Williams wants all of the “guaranteed” $63 million on this deal, he’d be better off getting hurt in the final regular season of the 2026 season. If he’s healthy, after all, the Patriots aren’t on the hook for the additional $12 million. In some ways, Williams would be better off blowing out his knee in the 2026 finale to collect, then get released and hit the free-agent market again coming off an injury – at least if he wants the full $63 million guarantee … which isn’t really guaranteed.
So whom should you be mad at for this? NFL teams or agents – or both – who present the Williams contract as having a $63million “guarantee” when it really isn’t guaranteed at all. It’s weaselly way for teams and agents to control the initial narrative by suggesting gold and gold=plated are the same thing. They aren’t. And the eels who do this sort of thing need to be called out for it more regularly.
One final thing – football is the only sport without fully, truly guaranteed money and that isn’t the fault of the players. The sport obviously has a high risk of injury. Meanwhile, players in other sports – mainly baseball and basketball, though hockey deals also are fully guaranteed – often cash in and then coast, which is equally as annoying.
Is it too much to ask for football players to get a little more, fully “guaranteed” money while baseball and basketball players get a little less?
The Bruins – and life after Brad Marchand
Make of this what you will, but the Bruins after the trading deadline have been the best version of the 2024-25 Bruins. If you watched last night’s 3-2, comeback victory over the Florida Panthers – a victory that NESN broadcasters called the team’s best win of the season – the Bruins showed enough fight, grit and tenacity to awaken the TD Garden from a season-long depression.
If you haven’t seen the late-third period fight between Nikita Zadorov (above) and the dastardly Sam Bennett – you’d love him if he were a Bruin – you can see it here:
So what does this all mean? Heaven knows. But this is now two straight games in which the Bruins have looked like, if nothing else, a spirited team. Is it possible that Brad Marchand and his contract dispute weighed this team down? Is it possible that Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Marchand were a major source of the malaise? Is it possible that the younger, new Bruins (including Jeremy Swayman) now feel liberated because the old guard is gone?
It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that all in Boston. Once Josh Beckett and company were traded away, Jon Lester and the 2013 Red Sox blossomed. Ditto for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after Marcus Smart was sent on his way.
Sometimes, the road needs be cleared before you can drive on it.
Rafael Devers and his sitdown strike
Time to start calling the Rafael Devers situation what it is: a sitdown strike. The Red Sox are now basically two weeks away from Opening Day and Devers has yet to face live pitching in game. Devers has now put off his spring debut multiple times, the latest of which seemed to prompt Alex Cora to smirk a non-answer exchange with reporters on Tuesday:
Know what I think? I think Devers channeled his inner Manny Ramirez and told the Red Sox he’s not playing until he says so. I think he’s pouting. And I think the Red Sox are going to let him pout about the fact that Alex Bregman seems settled as the third baseman until it starts to cost Devers money, which is at the start of the regular season, on March 27 against the Texas Rangers.
Don’t misunderstand. Devers will probably play in a spring game before then – but only when he feels like it. If he holds after that, it’s going to cost him money. There are lots of things to second-guess here, from the Red Sox’ communication with Devers during the offseason to Devers’ comments from last spring to this one. A year ago, Devers said Sox management didn’t do enough to win. This year, when they added Bregman, he has thus far refused to change positions.
Will this get settled? Presumably. But that hardly means it isn’t a story. If Devers doesn’t hit this year, the Sox will suddenly have a $300-million problem on their hands. Until then, the clock is ticking. And we must now wonder how long this standoff will continue.
That Celtics noise in the distance? Thunder
Remember that very long midseason slump the Celtics were mired in? It’s over. The Celtics are 15-3 in their last 18 games and 11-2 in their last 13, the more recent sample including recent victories over both the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers (and newcomer Luka Doncic) at the TD Garden. The Lakers victory looked a lot like the playoffs last year, the Celtics’ pulling away by more than 20 points before Jaylen Brown took over for Jayson Tatum (1-for-6 with the Celtics’ only two turnover in the fourth quarter) to close out the win.
Tonight, the Celtics host the Oklahoma City Thunder, though Boston’s lineup remains somewhat unsettled. Still, this would be a good night for the Celtics to put their original starting five together against a team that defeated them in January. The Celtics scored a season-low 92 points in that game and crumbled in the fourth quarter. If the team meet in the final, Oklahoma City will all but certainly have home-court advantage.
Do the Celtics need this game? No. But if the Thunder don’t scare you, they should. A strong showing tonight would reinforce the notion that the road to the NBA title still goes through Boston. A Celtics loss – particularly with a healthy roster – would suggest that the Thunder are to be taken quite seriously.
