New England’s top contracts are taking on a sizable portion of the club’s

current salary cap."As things stand right now Womens David Andrews Jersey , the New England Patriots are approximately $9.9 million under the NFL’s salary cap. This puts the reigning world champion in the bottom third league-wide when it comes to financial flexibility — and that is with both their punter and their kicker still on the open market and six other free agents remaining unsigned. In short: the Patriots have seen better financial days, at least when their cap space is concerned.So how did we get to this point? A recent breakdown by salary cap expert Miguel Benzan of the Boston Sports Journal offers one explanation: the Patriots are too top-heavy at the moment when it comes to the construction of their pay roll. A quick look at the list of New England’s current contracts confirms this, as the team has more players with cap hits of $10 million or more than they have had in the past.A total of five players are above this mark at the moment: quarterback Tom Brady ($27.0 million), cornerback Stephon Gilmore ($14.8 million), safety Devin McCourty ($13.4 million), tight end Rob Gronkowski ($11.9 million) and linebacker Dont’a Hightower ($10.9 million). All five of them are core members of the club both on and off the field, but seeing all of them hit the team’s cap with $10 or more million is a bit out of character.Since 2014, the Patriots never had more than three players over the threshold at the same time — something that is also true when it comes to players with a cap number of more than $5 million http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-steve-grogan-jersey , of which there are currently ten in New England. Last year, the club had seven such players, compared to nine the year before that and ten in 2016. But of course there is one fundamental difference between all those years: the salary cap itself.The NFL has set the number at $188.2 million in 2019, a $10 million increase compared to last season. Of course there will be more contracts with higher cap hits: there is more cap space available after all. But while that is all true, it does not quite tell the whole story of the Patriots’ current situation. A closer look at how much percent of the total cap space is taken up by the top-10 contracts is therefore necessary.According to Miguel, the breakdown over the last six years shows that 2019 stands out:As can be seen, New England’s richest ten contracts make up more than half of the club’s available salary cap space — the five named above plus the ones owned by offensive tackle Marcus Cannon ($7.5 million), guard Shaq Mason ($7.3 million) Youth Sony Michel Jerseys , defensive edge Michael Bennett ($7.2 million), linebacker Kyle Van Noy ($6.3 million) and wide receiver and the MVP of Super Bowl 53 Julian Edelman (5.4 million).This is also where plenty of potential lies for New England to create space through possible restructures, extensions or cuts. As resident cap expert Brian Phillips pointed out previously, New England could free up additional cap space by converting parts of Stephon Gilmore’s salary into a signing bonus spread out over the remainder of his contract, or by extending Kyle Van Noy or Tom Brady. All three moves combined could create an additional $10+ million for the Patriots to work with.So while they currently have their backs a bit against the proverbial wall, in parts because of the top-heavy nature of the salary cap list, the Patriots can still create additional wiggle room — room that could be used to bring back punter Ryan Allen, kicker Stephen Gostkowski Sony Michel Jerseys Stitched , and other free agents let alone those rookies qualifying for a top-51 contract.One additional note on Tom Brady and his contract, to address some misconceptions: there are rumors that his deal cannot be touched until August. However, according to both ex-NFL agent Joel Curry and the aforementioned Miguel Benzan, this does not seem to be the case. Why? Because Brady did not earn any of his 2018 incentives and his salary did therefore not increase. As a result, his deal is eligible to be altered right now. Harrison will become the 29th man to enter the Hall."Congratulations to former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison! The 46-year-old is the 29th man to be voted to the team’s Hall of Fame, as was announced by the club earlier today. Harrison beat out fellow finalists Richard Seymour and Mike Vrabel in a fan vote and will see the honor of induction bestowed upon him later this summer.Harrison was originally acquired by the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent in 2003. The former San Diego Chargers fifth-round draft choice would go on to spend the final six seasons of his fifteen-year career in New England, where he was a cornerstone of a team that won the Super Bowl in 2003 and 2004. A member of the Patriots’ 50th anniversary squad and team of the 2000s, Harrison appeared in a combined 72 regular season and playoff games for the club.His impressive résumé with the Patriots speaks for itself: Harrison registered a combined 514 tackles while playing for the team between 2003 and 2008 Trey Flowers Jersey , as well as 15 interceptions and 11.0 sacks. The vocal and physical defensive back was furthermore named a team captain in each of his six seasons in New England and also nominated to two All-Pro squads. Following his retirement in 2009, Harrison became an analyst for NBC.Now, in his first year as a finalist, he will receive the red jacket as the 29th member of the Patriots’ Hall of Fame. The enshrinement ceremony — which will also honor the late Leon Gray as this year’s senior selection — will traditionally take place during New England’s training camp.