Kendrick Bourne chasing legacy, not dollars, with his new Patriots contract

The veteran wide receiver signed a three-year, $19.5 million deal to stay in New England.

Although he was coming off a torn ACL, the New England Patriots made sure not to let Kendrick Bourne enter free agency. Before the start of the legal tampering period, the team and the veteran wide receiver reached an agreement on a new three-year contract extension.

Staying with the organization he had originally joined as a free agent in 2021 was a priority for Bourne, even if it meant potentially leaving cash on the table (an apparent theme for the club’s free agents this offseason). For the 28-year-old, who had led the team in receiving before his season-ending knee injury last October, it was all about continuing to build a legacy in New England.

“I’m not really chasing a billion dollars. I’m really chasing the legacy,” Bourne explained on a new episode of the Pats Interference podcast. “I’ve been watching The Dynasty lately and just love the story the Patriots have. I want to build something like that, be a part of something like that.”

The team-friendly deal Bourne ended up signing is a reflection of this desire.

WR Kendrick Bourne: Contract details

2024:
Base salary: $1.3 million*
Signing bonus: $1.4 million*
Roster bonus: $850,000
Workout bonus: $150,000
Incentives (NLTBE): $5.5 million
Salary cap hit: $3.25 million

2025:
Base salary: $5.5 million
Signing bonus: $1.4 million*
Roster bonus: $850,000
Workout bonus: $150,000
Incentives (NLTBE): $4 million
Salary cap hit: $7.9 million

2026:
Base salary: $5.5 million
Signing bonus: $1.4 million*
Roster bonus: $850,000
Workout bonus: $150,000
Incentives (NLTBE): $4 million
Salary cap hit: $7.9 million

*fully guaranteed

At a base value of $19.5 million, Bourne’s three-year contract is worth an average of $6.5 million per year. To put those numbers into perspective, they make him the 36th-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL at the moment on an AAV basis.

What the deal does, however, is give Bourne an opportunity to boost his cash intake through availability and production. For starters, he can earn an extra $13.5 million via incentives currently considered not likely to be earned (something that is also true for his 2024 roster bonus given that he missed the second half of the 2023 season due to injury).

In addition to those incentives and the roster bonuses in his deal, Bourne can also increase the guarantees in his contract through performance: if he exceeds 800 receiving yards this upcoming year — a number he managed to clear once in seven NFL seasons (2021) — $2.5 of his $5.5 million salary in 2025 will become fully guaranteed. Again, availability and production are the key aspects.

The contract, as noted above, can be considered team-friendly. Bourne, however, is not unhappy about this but rather motivated to turn his focus away from business and back to football.

“When [agent Henry Organ] called me and gave me the final numbers that they kind of agreed on and Henry thought was fair on our side and their side, he ran it down to me and I was just like, ‘I like the deal,’” Bourne said. “So, when he told me the numbers and how we agreed, it was definitely heartwarming.

“And it’s just time now. The path is set, and it’s time to get to work.”