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ORLANDO -- Acquiring the services of Darrelle Revis isn't easy and it's certainly not cheap. But if you believe Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New England got a deal when they signed the cornerback to a one-year, $12 million deal in free agency this offseason.
Kraft said at the 2014 NFL owners' meetings that Revis could have gotten "considerably more money" by going to another team but chose New England instead.
"Here’s a young man who really much had his choice of any team he wanted in the NFL and he came to us," Kraft said. "He could have gotten considerably more money going to other teams. He still came to us and I think he knows we’re committed to winning as an organization. I really believe his priority is trying to win."
Kraft pointed out that he thinks Revis, who he's met with this offseason, has focused more on the importance of winning as opposed to the importance of making money moving forward.
"He’s really [stepped up] his commitment to training. I know he’s gone to Arizona — he really wants to win," Kraft said. "And part of it, sometimes I think young men come in the NFL and they come from modest backgrounds financially and they’re able to make a lot of money and it’s a turn on. I think of myself in business when I started out and then you realize what’s important and I think he’s trying to find a balance of making a very comfortable income but at the same time he wants to win.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that football’s very important to him and he wants to win. And the same is true is with everyone else we’ve signed this offseason."
Revis and Brandon Browner -- who Kraft says the Patriots did their due diligence on -- should become a formidable duo at cornerback for New England once Browner returns from his four-game suspension.
Given how well New England's done the last decade, there's a good chance Revis will get plenty of chances to taste victory.
It doesn't hurt that he'll collect a "lesser" sum like $12 million in the process either.
