Contracts remain a hot topic in the NFL and New England.
Rookie deals are getting done. And though teams are about to embark on the only real vacation time in the NFL calendar, big-time negotiations for guys like Von Miller and Andrew Luck continue to drive headlines.
In New England, the talk remains about the so-called "big three" free agents-to-be in Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Malcolm Butler.
All across the football world, contract talks are driving the offseason news cycle.
The Boston Globe's Sunday notes looks at how rookie contracts have grown in recent years, even though they are technically slotted deals under the CBA.
Globe columnist Kevin Paul Dupont seems to miss the point – unaware of the phrase "for the love of the game" -- in a column about why people play football even considering the physical toll the game takes on the human body. "Our kids line up by the thousands as Pop Warner wunderkinds, hopeful and eager to chase fame and fortune down a road that now, under mounting evidence, is shown to wear at their bones, sinew, and cerebral matter as if they lived atop some radioactive waste dump."
The Boston Herald ranks the Patriots contract priorities, with Collins as the top target. The *Herald *also looks at New England tight end Martellus Bennett selling his children’s book in Boston over the weekend.
The Providence Journal says that free-agent tight end addition Clay Harbor’s versatility could earn him a roster spot in New England.
ESPNBoston.com asks the other three AFC East writers for the Worldwide Leader what the Patriots record will be if Jimmy Garoppolo starts the first four games of the season. All think 2-2 is the likely result for New England.
ESPNBoston.com offers up a 53-man roster projection, with the wide receiver spot maybe the most interesting call as neither Aaron Dobson nor Nate Washington make the cut.
ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss offers up his weekly must-read notes, including word that Bill Belichick kept the players off the field for New England's final OTA day.
ESPNBoston.com also broke word over the weekend that Michael Lombardi is moving on from the Patriots front office.
WEEI.com's Sunday notes deconstruct the Patriots roster by age.
CSNNE.com has five Patriots position battles that took place in spring practice. (Slideshow warning!!!!!) The site also looks at Lombardi’s reported departure.
NFL.com pass along word that former Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork thinks he can play at least a couple more years.
With the record-breaking Golden State Warriors falling short of their quest for an NBA title, the San Jose Mercury News has TNT analyst Charles Barkley comparing Steph Curry’s squad to the 2007 Patriots.
