Striking It Rich

With the signing of TE Rob Gronkowski to a contract extension, the Pats are making him one of the key pieces of their offense. Will they do the same for Aaron Hernandez? They have Gronk signed though 2019. If he doesn't play well, he will never see all of that money. I'm sure at some point, they will renegotiate his contract. That's a fact of life in the NFL.

Where does this leave Wes Welker. Apparently, it was easier to do Gronk's contract than Welker's. I don't think the team is going to give him more than three years. They probably only want to do it for two. If they franchise him again next year, it will be at an added cost. It would be cheaper to sign him now, but they don't seem to want to go in that direction.