Derek Simpson, the agent of New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, wants something known. The team has not approached Butler to talk about a contract extension, and his asking price is not unreasonable.
“The Patriots haven’t approached Malcolm about his contract since last year, and anything that says he keeps asking for the moon is completely false,” Simpson said, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.
New England made a big splash in free agency, signing corner Stephon Gillmore to a contract expected to be worth north of $14 million per year.
Simpson added (via Reiss) that Butler has “a lot of respect” for the decision to sign Gillmore. On paper, Butler and Gillmore are a formidable cornerback duo. But Butler is on track to make less than $4 million in 2017.
It’s unclear how well Butler — a Super Bowl hero and one of the NFL’s best corners — will respond to another cornerback on his own team making more than three times the money that he’ll make. What we do know is the Patriots now have leverage to potentially use Butler in a trade scenario to land Brandin Cooks of the New Orleans Saints.
Things could get a bit bumpy for Butler, who certainly deserves a bit more than he’s getting right now.