DeAndre Hopkins has finally selected his team for the 2023 NFL season. The wide receiver decided to join the Tennessee Titans instead of the New England Patriots, and now it has been revealed the reason why.
One of the best free agents available this year was DeAndre Hopkins. There were a lot of rumors surrounding the wide receiver, but he finally made the decision to join the Titans to bolster the team’s offense.
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Unfortunately, the Patriots couldn’t convince the former Arizona Cardinals player to join their cause. They made an offer to the 31-year-old, but Hopkins finally preferred the Titans due to a controversial reason.
The real reason why DeAndre Hopkins preferred the Titans over the Patriots
The competition to sign DeAndre Hopkins included several teams, but Patriots and Titans were the strongest among them. Both teams offered the wideout a contract, but at the end he decided to join Tennessee.
After receiving a contract offer from New England, the Titans decided to counter with a more ‘aggressive’ offer. The Patriots matched it, but the guaranteed money was the reason why Hopkins chose to go to the AFC South over the East.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, New England was willing to offer the same first-year payment as Tennesse. However, more of the money was tied to incentives, and Hopkins didn’t like it.
“New England was willing to match the max total ($15 million) for 2023, only with a far higher percentage of that total tied to incentives as part of an offer that, structurally at least, looked a little like Kansas City’s offer before the draft,” the report says. “Remember, the Chiefs worked diligently on a deal in April, and had most of it worked out then (they’d talked about a deal with a $4 million base and upside to $10 million, and had worked through trade terms with Arizona), only to have Beckham’s deal (one year, $15 million) poison the well.“
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After playing only nine games last year with Arizona, Hopkins reportedly sought to secure additional guaranteed money due to his injuries. That’s why the offer made by the Titans was more appealing, as he didn’t want to feel pressured to earn more.
