When the Bengals traded Chad Ochocinco to the Patriots, the receiver was set to make $6 million for the 2011 season. With New England, though, he restructured his deal to make it a three-year, $11.5 million deal (he did, however,end up making that original amount thanks to bonuses).
And he seemed fine with taking a smaller base salary for the chance to play for the Patriots.
Now, after a less than stellar season in which he caught 15 passes with only one touchdown — and disappeared for long stretches of the season — Ochocinco again has restructured his deal. And again, he seems fine with making less money.
According to the Boston Herald, Ochocinco will make $1 million for the 2012 season instead of the $3 million he was scheduled to earn, and for a guy who had a good chance to be cut following the Super Bowl (or even before), Ochocinco supposedly is motivated to become a top-notch receiver instead of what he appeared to be last season — a 33-year-old who had nothing left.
“Chad has unfinished business,” his agent Drew Rosenhaus told the paper. “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(n) 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.”
Ochocinco made virtually no impact last season in New England, and he was benched for part of the playoffs. Whether it was because Ochocinco couldn’t handle the intricacies of the Patriots offense or whether it was a chemistry issue with Tom Brady or whether it was an issue with Ochocinco’s physical skills (and how much they might have declined from 2010 to 2011), Ochocinco simply couldn’t make himself relevant in New England.
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