The New England Patriots were heavily outbid for the services for Dont'a Hightower by the New York Jets. According to a report from PatsPulpit, the Jets offered a whopping $20 million more than what the Patriots were willing to pony up. While Pats fans should certainly be happy that the linebacker decided to go with the Super Bowl champion, there might be some lingering concerns. It appears the decision was not entirely Hightower's to make. The same report says the Jets pulled their rather rich offer after the defender took a physical for the team.
Hightower's big offer
According to ESPN, the particulars of the offer the Jets made are a 5-year, $55 million dollar contract, one that maxed out at $62.5 million in case all incentives – based on game time and Pro Bowl distinctions – were reached. Had the player bolted from the New England Patriots and taken the deal, the incentives could have made him the highest inside linebacker in the league. The money per year would have tied former Pats and current Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamie Collins for the biggest deal at his position. The total value of the deal would have been quite a bit more than what his current team was willing to put on the table.
Questions with the Jets
The reason the New England Patriots were able to get their linebacker back was because the Jets saw the results of the physical, one that apparently would have sealed the deal and decided to back off.
Now the big question is just what New York saw in that physical that made them decide the contract offer was much too rich. This doesn't appear to be something Pats fans should be too concerned with. Hightower has had injury problems from time to time, but the team is well aware of his injury history. They were still willing to offer him a four-year contract that pays him more than $8 million per year. That isn't chump change and the Patriots are going to be on the hook if he's hurt. In the end, the team came out the winner in this deal and have had a nice off season so far.
