The Patriots overcame a national scandal and a ten point deficit in the fourth quarter to top the Seahawks 28-24 and capture yet another Vince Lombardi trophy. Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Julian Edelman, to secure his fourth Super Bowl ring. The Seahawks nearly retook the game on a wild drive, assisted by Jermaine Kearse‘s unbelievably fortunate catch. However, at the 1 yard line, the Seahawks opted to throw and Pats corner Malcolm Butler came away with Russell Wilson‘s errant pass. The Seahawks bid to repeat came up just short while the Patriots made it clear that their dynasty is far from done.
When the Patriots are done washing off the champagne and sleeping off their hangovers, they’ll turn their attention to a most pivotal offseason. The Pats hold a whopping $20MM option on cornerback Darrelle Revis that would carry a $25MM cap hit, so they’ll likely try and work out a new long-term deal with him instead. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and wide receiver Danny Amendola could become cap casualties in order to carve out significant cap room. Safety Devin McCourty is a possible franchise tag candidate and the Pats can also be expected to look into an extension for him.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, will start their offseason by finding a replacement for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who is hours away from being named as the next head coach of the Falcons. Seattle has already made a “huge” extension offer to Marshawn Lynch that would allow him to plow through defenders as a member of the Seahawks for the rest of his career. Meanwhile, long-term extension talks with Wilson are expected to take place right away now that the Super Bowl is in the books. Wilson is expected to become the highest-paid player in NFL history, with Aaron Rodgers‘ $22MM AAV serving as the starting point in negotiations. Aside from those offensive stars, the Seahawks will have other high-priority players on the agenda, including cornerback Byron Maxwell, who is set to hit the open market.
After the completion of a most memorable Super Bowl, it is now officially the offseason for all 32 NFL teams. Let the madness begin.