If you were concerned that the New England Patriots wouldn’t spend money to improve the roster for 2026, those worries are alleviated now.

As of Friday, with the first big waves of free agency over, the Patriots stand as one of the top teams in free agent spending to start the 2026 league year. Over the Cap has the Pats at sixth overall in total cash spending on the open market with $183.2 million. They’re also eighth in total guarantees ($103.7M), sixth in fully guaranteed money ($99.7M), and 10th in first-year cash ($70.3M).

It’s not necessarily an honorable thing to rank among the top-spending teams in the league in free agency, when you consider the five clubs that put more total cash on their books than the Patriots: the Titans, Raiders, Colts, Commanders, and Panthers. But it’s a reflection of a Patriots roster that, despite making an unexpected run to the Super Bowl in 2025, still has numerous roster needs to fill. An MVP-caliber season for quarterback Drake Maye, and an invigorating cultural makeover under head coach Mike Vrabel, belied the reality that they still have years of bad drafting and bad football to clean up in 2026 and beyond.

But the spending doesn’t necessarily put the Patriots in the same tier as the other aforementioned teams, four of which missed the playoffs entirely. And looking at how the Patriots spent, it’s fair to say they spent wisely and sensibly. They didn’t go out of their way to make a splash. They addressed most of their pressing needs without needlessly breaking the bank. As it stands, they are mostly set up well to simply draft the best players available next month, regardless of position.

Key to the Patriots’ latest spending spree is that they didn’t put all their proverbial eggs into too few baskets. They spread the wealth. That’s evidenced by ranking lower total guaranteed money (eighth) than they do in the APY of their free-agent deals ($6.97M, sixth). Wide receiver Romeo Doubs has the highest total guarantee of any Pats deal at $39M, which is seventh-most in the league. Their next-highest guarantee is 25th overall, for edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones ($23.1M).

Contrast that with the Raiders, who spent more than a third of their total guarantees ($220.9M) on center Tyler Linderbaum alone. The Titans, meanwhile, have four of the top-15 contracts in total guarantees. They spent a total of $154 million on cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Cordale Flott, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, and wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.

The truth remains that the Patriots need to add more impact talent to the roster, as their free-agent spending comprises mostly middle-class types of players, albeit ones that should make an appreciable impact anyway. But realistically, the real high-end players have to come in the draft. It’s unwise to overspend on mediocre players in free agency, and a much better idea to save that splurge for true impact guys.

Still, the Patriots could stand to be in the market for another short-term deal for an infusion of veteran talent at edge rusher, even if they are earmarking the 31st overall pick in the 2026 draft for that position. Notable names still available that are still productive and could help the Pats in the short-term include Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd, Cameron Jordan, Von Miller, Jadeveon Clowney, Dante Fowler Jr., and Haason Reddick.

But even if the Pats stopped spending today, it’s still been a strong off-season in terms of the additions themselves, and the way they’ve extended themselves financially to get them.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.