Zolak & Bertrand

What will McDaniels' contract with Pats look like? Perry shares intel

The Raiders still owe the new Patriots OC a hefty sum.

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For the fourth time in as many seasons, the New England Patriots have a new offensive coordinator.

The Patriots have hired Josh McDaniels as their new OC under head coach Mike Vrabel, about 15 months after the Las Vegas Raiders relieved McDaniels of his head coaching duties in October 2023. When McDaniels joined the Raiders in 2022, he reportedly signed a six-year contract believed to be worth $10 million annually, and Las Vegas is obligated to pay the remainder of that contract.

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That means the Raiders will be paying McDaniels a hefty sum, even while he works in New England. But how much would the Patriots pay their new OC? Patriots Insider Phil Perry explained how it all works Wednesday while co-hosting 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand.

"Typically you've got these offsets in these coaches' contracts, right? So, he'll get paid something by the Patriots and then the Raiders essentially make up the difference," Perry said of McDaniels.

"The other thing to keep in mind here too is that when he's given the offensive coordinator title, by league rule, you have to pay him a salary commensurate with that job. And those jobs, generally speaking, are paid pretty well. Will he be in the $3, $4, $5 million range where you're at the top of the market when it comes to offensive coordinators?"

McDaniels' predecessor, Alex Van Pelt, also signed a multi-year contract with New England prior to last season, so the Patriots will need to pay off the rest of his deal as well. Perry shed light on how much Van Pelt was making as offensive coordinator in 2024.

"My understanding was Alex Van Pelt was a shade under $3 million this past year, which actually paid him near the top of the league in terms of offensive coordinator salaries," Perry said. "So, are they just going to carry that salary over and just give that to Josh McDaniels, and now he's making up the difference with his head coaching salary in Vegas? It'll be something along those lines."

As Perry noted, the Patriots still need to pay McDaniels an OC's salary, even if he's receiving money from Las Vegas. But Perry outlined one scenario where Robert Kraft and Patriots ownership could take advantage of McDaniels' Raiders buyout.

"What they could do, because it makes no difference one way or the other to McDaniels ... you could pay him at the very low end of the offensive coordinator scale league-wide, and then have the Raiders make up the rest until he's no longer under contract for the Raiders," Perry said.

"So if the low end is, say, $1 million to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL, the Patriots could pay him $1 million (and) the Raiders could make up the difference. To me, it doesn't really matter either way -- although it matters to the Krafts."

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While that type of arrangement may appeal to the Krafts, there are plenty of other reasons why McDaniels makes a lot of sense in New England. The 48-year-old has worked with a wide range of quarterbacks -- including the legendary Tom Brady -- and has proved to be adaptable with the personnel given to him. He should be a great mentor to Drake Maye as the 22-year-old quarterback enters his second NFL season.

In fact, Perry pointed out that other OC candidates around the league were convinced that the Patriots would hire McDaniels even before they named Vrabel as their head coach.

"What I have heard from people in the league that are in these circles ... people that had interest in this job, others who already have offensive coordinator positions, have assumed McDaniels would be the guy since even before Mike Vrabel was hired," Perry said.

"... People around the league looked at this situation, they looked at McDaniels and his relationship with the Krafts, and they said, 'Well, that's gonna happen.'"

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