Judon expresses frustration with contract dispute, ‘football business’

Judon expresses frustration with contract dispute, ‘football business’ originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

Judging by Monday’s training camp workout, Matthew Judon doesn’t appear to be any closer to getting the contract he wants with the New England Patriots.

While present on the fields outside of Gillette Stadium, the star outside linebacker did not participate in the padded workout. He watched his fellow pass-rushers participate in practices and had lively discussions with head coach Jerod Mayo, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh before leaving the field.

Judon has been open about his frustrations with his current contract, which has him earning $6.5 million in base salary this season. He continued to vent about the situation on a recent episode of Marc Lewis’ “Shut Up Marc Podcast.”

“I love football, I don’t love the football business,” Judon said. “I don’t want to be the bad guy. I don’t want to be the bad guy. But it’s like – shoot, bro. Like, help me. You got the biggest cap (space) in the league right now, bro. And with that, they don’t even get the money. So what the hell are you doing with it?

New England has the second-highest salary cap in the NFL at approximately $43.5 million, according to Over the Cap. The San Francisco 49ers lead the league with about $52.3 million.

Judon revealed that he wrote his own contract and sent it to the Patriots front office.

“These guys have a difficult decision. It’s difficult for them,” he added. “It’s difficult to know who to give the money to, when to give the money, where, how much. There are many things that go along with this.

“But I wrote my own contract and sent it to them. They just don’t respond. … I don’t talk to them much. They let me play football and I have an agent, but one thing I did.”

Judon shined in his first two seasons with the Patriots, recording a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2021 and 15.5 in 2022. Last year, however, he played just four games due to a torn biceps late of the season. That and the fact that he turns 32 next month could be the factors preventing him from getting the deal he’s looking for.

The Patriots will return to the practice field on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET. Judon’s participation – or lack thereof – will certainly be among the stories worth monitoring.