Chad Ochocinco Takes Pay Cut to Stay with Patriots
After having just 15 catches during all of the 2011 NFL season, Chad Ochocinco has decided to restructure his contract in order to remain with the New England Patriots. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, cites “unfinished business” as Chad’s motivation to take a $2 million pay cut from $3 million to $1 million per year. Ochocinco had a tough time transitioning into the Patriots offensive system last year, partly due to the NFL lockout but also because the system is just so complex. He played in a system alongside WRs Wes Welker, Deion Branch and TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, all of which were targeted regularly by QB Tom Brady. Chad was brought in to be New England’s deep threat, filling the void left by Randy Moss, but the combination of Chad’s age and his lack of knowledge in the system really prevented him from doing so. Ochocinco had one catch for 21 yards in New England’s loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.
Drew Rosenhaus’ explanation on the deal (via Boston Herald):
[quote]Chad has unfinished business,” Rosenhaus said. “He has unfinished business with the Patriots. They were very generous to him last year, and he’s interested in giving the team his best. He feels with a offseason, with a great offseason, the lockout hurt him, it’s a tough system, he’ll learn the system, he’ll get accustomed to it, and I think he’ll do a lot better. So, he’s excited. He’s ready to make an impact.
With the lockout, he missed all of the offseason program,” Rosenhaus continued. “We represent a lot of guys who have played in that offseason over the years — notable (Donte’) Stallworth, he’s back — and it’s a very tricky offensive system to learn. And it’s very precise. Now, Chad has all offseason, he’ll be in the workouts, so we’re excited about it.[/quote]
In other news, Chad plans to change his last name back to Johnson before his wedding this summer to reality star Evelyn Lozada. The wedding will be chronicled by Vh1 as an eight episode special.
