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One of the things that made Bill Belichick so effective, not just as a head coach, but a GM with New England, where he won six rings (aside from having Tom Brady), was that there was no sentimentality in his personnel decisions.
On September 6, 2009, Belichick traded defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who was entering the final year of his contract, to the Oakland Raiders.
The team got a first-round pick in return and used it to pick offensive tackle Nate Solder, who became a very solid player for them.
Seymour played eight years for New England, was about to turn 30, and Belichick felt it was time to turn the page.
Seymour was a very good player for New England, but there was a lot of wear and tear on his body, and perhaps he wasn’t the same player as earlier in his career.
Belichick got attacked for this, but you have to understand, he never made personnel decisions based on sentimentality.
Like when decided to stick with Tom Brady, after Drew Bledsoe returned from the horrific lung injury suffered against the Jets on a hit by linebacker Mo Lewis.
Bledsoe was a fan and owner favorite who had just signed a massive new contract, but Belichick made the tough and unpopular decision to stick with Brady, and the rest is history.
What is my point? It’s related to Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey, and the importance of avoiding making any personnel decisions based on sentimentality or public opinion polls.
And this brings me to what the Pittsburgh Steelers just did, making soon-to-be 31-year-old defensive end T.J. Watt the highest paid non-quarterback in the league, a three-year, $123 million deal which averages $41 million a year., putting him past Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who make around $40 million per season.
Look, Watt is a great player, but already logged eight years in the league at a physically taxing position, so he has some miles on him. He’s also been dinged a lot over the years.
I wouldn’t have paid him that much money. I would have paid him handsomely, but not that much. I’m not setting records with soon-to-be 31-year-old players. Highly unlikely Belichick would have either.
You gotta be careful paying people for past performance and because of their popularity.
While Belichick last three years in New England weren’t great, when they were rolling before that, he was so good at avoiding going crazy paying older, popular players based on public perception.
He wanted to get rid of defensive tackle Vince Wilfork a year earlier than the team did, but owner Robert Kraft intervened here and made Belichick keep the player an additional year.
Kraft didn’t meddle much with Belichick, but Vince was like a son to him, so he intervened here.
The point here is simple. There was nothing wrong with the Jets paying young stars like Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, who are just 24. That is smart business.
But in general, they need to run a program that is a true meritocracy, with no heartstrings attached to players (a problem with the last regime)
And always pay players for what they can do for you moving forward, not just based on what they did in the past.
No doubt, Watt will be a solid player for the Steeles this year, but 41 million a year for a soon-to-be 31-year-old defensive end? C’mon now.
July 18, 2025
