The Patriots are back. Which means it will be more expensive to watch them play in person.
Via Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, the Patriots will be raising prices on the “majority” of their season tickets for 2026.
The average increase will be seven percent, with most seats increasing by less than 10 percent. Fewer than 15 percent of the seats will see a price hike in excess of 10 percent.
Season-ticket holders will receive their invoices soon, with a renewal deadline of March 31.
As Callahan explains it, this is the first time that the Patriots have raised prices for a “majority” of their seats in four years, but only the second since 2008.
That’s a very specific explanation, making it possible (in theory) that half of the tickets have been increased in price every single year.
Still, the lowest season-ticket price is only $89 per game — which works out to $890 for the full year. The Patriots have the eighth-highest average season-ticket prices in the league.
A year ago, the Patriots signed free agent pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson to a one-year, $3 million contract. That turned out to be a bargain — a bargain the Patriots won’t get again.
Chaisson had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 7.5 sacks in the regular season and then adding three more in the postseason, and he’s going to be highly sought after when free agency starts next week.
The 26-year-old Chaisson is No. 44 on our list of the Top 100 free agents in the NFL.
Mike Reiss of ESPN writes that Chaisson will probably command between $8 million and $11 million a year, either from the Patriots or some other team.
Chaisson was a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2020 after a standout career at LSU, but he never lived up to expectations in his four seasons in Jacksonville. He signed with the Panthers in 2024 but didn’t even make their practice squad, then signed with the Raiders’ practice squad in September of that year and got called up to the active roster in October. He played better than expected for the Raiders, which is what made the Patriots interested.
Now, after Chaisson’s best NFL season, he’s set to cash in, as either the Patriots make a long-term investment in him as a big part of their future, or some other team signs him away from the defending AFC champions.
The Eagles made it clear this week that they’ll listen to offers for receiver A.J. Brown. Whether they’ll accept one remains to be seen.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes, based on “sources close to several Eagles,” that a decision will be made sooner than later.
With the negotiation period for free agents opening on March 9, the Eagles presumably would want to move quickly to replace Brown, if they’ll be trading him. Still, they won’t do the deal unless they get what they want.
One thing they may want is an agreement to delay the trade until after June 1. That’s when the cap consequences arising from a trade would be split over two years, instead of being fully absorbed in 2026.
The price for Brown isn’t known. McLane suggests that, at a minimum, the Eagles would want a second-round pick. If multiple teams compete for Brown, the Eagles could get more.
Teams to watch include the Patriots, Bills, Ravens, and Chargers.
They’ve done a good job of being coy about their plans. But it’s obvious that he’s available, for the right proposal. Whether they get an offer they’ll accept remains to be seen.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
The Patriots signed Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million deal last March. He caught 85 passes for a team-leading 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.
It was a good season, but was it good enough for the Patriots to keep him for Year 2 of the deal?
Diggs, 32, has a $6 million roster bonus that becomes guaranteed on March 13. He has a $20.6 million base salary and is scheduled to count $26.5 million against the cap.
Mike Vrabel cited Diggs’ leadership when asked about Diggs’ future with the team.
“Well, I mean, not only his future, but what he was able to do for us and come in and provide leadership,” Vrabel said. “He worked extremely hard in the time that he was rehabbing from the knee. I think he was just a really good presence each and every week. So, as we look to evaluate the football team, we’re doing that constantly, Eliot [Wolf], myself, Ryan [Cowden], Stretch [John Streicher] and Eliot’s staff.
“Just being a little bit behind of where we were with just how long the season went, where those conversations for each and every player are happening in the meetings in between the ones we have the draft players here. So, there’s a lot of things that we’ll do between now and the time that the football season starts. So, that’s going to be the same with, I would say, most every player on our roster.”
Diggs, though, faces assault and strangulation charges stemming from an incident with his personal chef. Diggs is accused of slapping and attempting to choke her in a dispute over an unpaid bill. He has a pretrial hearing scheduled for April 1.
“We’re going to let the legal process run its course, just like we’ve said before,” Vrabel said. “Those players, whether that’s Stefon or anybody else that has something, have done exactly what they’re supposed to do, been where they’re supposed to be, communicated with the court when they’re supposed to communicate with them. So, we’re going to let all that take care of itself, and then we’ll have to see what the judgments are in those particular cases.”
