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Julian Edelman and Ty Law joked about ‘tricks’ Bill Belichick used during contract negotiations
Edelman shared a story of Belichick trying to get him to agree to a smaller contract during a cafeteria interaction.
Ty Law and Julian Edelman shared some Bill Belichick negotiating stories: Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has had a string of fellow former Patriots figures on his podcast, “Games With Names” in recent weeks.
After Matthew Slater and Ernie Adams, Edelman also recently hosted Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law. The two covered a range of topics over the two-and-a-half hour podcast.
One of the more humorous topics was a mutual dislike (but appreciation) for how Bill Belichick negotiated with players. Law shared two stories, with Edelman also giving his own example.
“There was a situation where I was going through some contract stuff, and Bill was like, ‘Hey, we need to restructure your contract,'” Law remembered.
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The talented cornerback questioned if it was going to “be like an extension?”
“But after we got it all down,” Law added, “I’m like, ‘Hang on a second, that’s a f****** pay cut!’ That ain’t saving me no money. I don’t even have to send my agent to this s***.”
Belichick then “hit” Law with a quandary: If he didn’t take the reworked deal, one of his friends on the team (who Law refused to name) would be cut due to a lack of cap space. Law said that he refused, telling Belichick “I ain’t giving you s***.”
“That’s Bill being Bill. So we ended up working it out. I restructured,” Law added, noting that he eventually got the new deal so that he continued to make the same amount of money (avoiding his teammate getting cut).
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“You got the old Bill ‘okey doke’ corner trick,” Edelman recalled. “He used to try to do that to me all the time with contract talk stuff. He’d see you in the cafeteria [and say], ‘Look Jules, come over for a second.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s up coach? How you doing?’ I would just play dumb.’
“[Belichick] would be like, ‘Look, we got an agent, we got [Nick] Caserio (then the Patriots player personnel director). You tell your agent something, I tell Caserio [something]. Why don’t we just do something right here?'”
Edelman said he would plead ignorance in an attempt to avoid being strong-armed by Belichick without his agent present.
Law then brought up another example of Belichick’s surly style of negotiating.
“At the time I was the only person on the roster that was still under Pete Carroll’s contract,” Law explained. “I signed a big deal with Pete.”
As part of the deal, Law had multiple bonuses, including a $1 million “reporting” bonus (for showing up on time each season and passing the conditioning test). He also had a workout bonus worth $100,000.
In the second year of Belichick’s tenure, Law said that he didn’t get his workout bonus. The reason, per Law, was that he conducted separate offseason workouts with a special coach (famous American track coach Bob Kersee). And while that was fine with the Patriots in Belichick’s first year, he didn’t give permission the next season.
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As the standoff continued—Law still hadn’t received his workout bonus—he went to see Belichick for a meeting.
“Bill had my contract sitting on his desk, laid out, highlighted,” Law joked. “He had the s*** highlighted, ‘Has to be approved.'”
Belichick told Law he didn’t approve it, resulting in Law leaving training camp for three days.
“See there wasn’t social media and all that stuff then, so I was gone for three days,” Law said, rationalizing that he knew the Patriots couldn’t fine him more than $5,000 per day at that time for such a violation. In his mind, he concluded that he could miss 20 days before the fines exceeded $100,000.
“If I’m going to lose that 100,000, I’m going to lose that s*** legit,” Law laughed. “So I was gone.”
When he returned to camp, it was just in time for a preseason game against Washington. Belichick prepared a measure of fairly petty revenge against Law.
“He didn’t start me. He put me in with the damn scrubs, bro,” Law remembered. “Willie [McGinest] and everybody eating hot dogs on the sideline, laughing and s***.”
The following week, Belichick and Law resolved their differences over the workout bonus, with a characteristically Belichickian twist.
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“We come back in on Monday, I didn’t take my stuff off. I was at the table eating breakfast, still with my clothes on,” Law said. “Bill came out with an envelope, set it right next to me and he was like, ‘F****** a**h***.’ So I opened up the check, $85,000. He docked me three days.”
“That’s Bill for you though, he docked me the f****** three days. But like I said, we’ve got a great relationship and respect from there,” Law concluded, adding that “sometimes you have to put your foot down.”
Trivia: Ty Law grew up in Aliquippa, Pa., a town of less than 10,000 people. Despite its small size, Aliquippa has produced four Pro Football Hall of Fame members (including Law). Can you name the other three?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: One also played cornerback for the Patriots during a single Super Bowl season. Another was a Hall of Fame tight end who also coached an NFC North team to a Super Bowl win. The third is tied with Derrick Henry for having the longest touchdown run from scrimmage in NFL history (99 yards).
Scores and schedules:
The Celtics, Bruins, and Revolution all lost on Tuesday in what was a forgettable night for Boston sports.
The Red Sox also lost, falling in the home opener to the Orioles, 7-1. Boston will host Baltimore again this evening at 7:10 p.m.
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- Watch: Brianna Wakefield, daughter of Tim and Stacy, throws out first pitch at Red Sox home opener
- Why Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy isn’t fretting over a home loss to Hurricanes
- Jabrill Peppers explains Matthew Slater’s new role with the Patriots
- ‘They’re the best team that I’ve ever faced’: Revolution routed again by Club América
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Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury: The 29-year-old Greek superstar sustained a non-contact injury in the win over the Celtics on Tuesday and left the game. Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after the game that the concern level is “high.”
On this day: In 1981, Carlton Fisk homered immediately in his return to Fenway Park for the first time since leaving the Red Sox in acrimonious circumstances to sign with the White Sox. The backstory behind Fisk’s departure (along with those of Fred Lynn and Rick Burleson) remains a fascinatingly bizarre (and tragic) chapter in Red Sox history.
Daily highlight: Andrei Svechnikov scored a “Michigan” goal against the Bruins on Tuesday. Svechnikov was the original NHL player to score a league goal using the unique technique in 2019, and he’s only added to his unorthodox resume since.
Trivia answer: Darrelle Revis, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett
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