Bill Belichick recently shared his thoughts on the surprising turn of events surrounding edge rusher Matthew Judon after his trade from the New England Patriots to the Atlanta Falcons. Belichick, who has a deep understanding of Judon’s contract situation, expressed surprise at how Atlanta has handled the star player’s contract since the trade.
“I’m kind of surprised Atlanta didn’t, or hasn’t, extended Judon’s contract,” Belichick said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday. “I think he’s pretty undervalued for what his contract is, based on the way it was set up there. It was kind of a complicated situation.”
Judon, who had been a key player for the Patriots, found himself in a unique contractual situation after receiving a cash advance from New England last season. This advance resulted in Judon entering the 2024 season with a modest $6.5 million base salary. Belichick, who orchestrated this arrangement, expressed surprise that Judon’s camp agreed to it, as it involved moving money from the 2024 contract into the 2023 season as incentives.
“With Judon, that money was just moved forward,” Belichick explained. “It was taken out of the ’24 contract and put into the ’23 contract for incentives. I was a little surprised they agreed to that, but they did.”
Belichick suggested that if he were in charge in Atlanta, he would consider adding incentives to Judon’s contract for the 2024 season. This approach would be consistent with Belichick’s history of creatively structuring contracts during his two decades with the Patriots.
“There’s a lot of different ways to work around that,” Belichick noted.
Adding to the irony of the situation, Belichick had interviewed for the Falcons’ head coaching position earlier this offseason before the job ultimately went to Raheem Morris. Belichick’s insights into Judon’s contract situation highlight the complexities involved and offer a glimpse into the challenges Atlanta faces with their new star player.
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