If you're wondering how contract negotiations between NFL players and general managers really go down, well, Davon Godchaux is here to tell you.
The Patriots defensive tackle recently signed a two-year contract extension with New England reportedly worth up to $21 million, but not after a bit of contention that included Godchaux publicly voicing his contract displeasure before he inked the new deal.
So, how did Godchaux and Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf resolve their differences? In a recent episode of his "Chaux Talk" YouTube show, the 29-year-old gave a surprisingly detailed account of how things played out.
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“Man, it was a new head coach," Godchaux said. "I don’t want to be a distraction to the team, I really just want to go out there and ball. I didn’t do anything in OTAs, I just worked out at the facility, and I went home.
"... Training camp came and I remember having this conversation with Eliot… He called me and was like, ‘Look, what’s going on? We want you to be out on the field practicing.’ I’m like, ‘Look, Eliot, I don’t have guarantees.' I get it. In this day and age … the top pass rushers are getting paid big money, but you also need a guy to come in and stop the run. If the run doesn’t get stopped then you can forget about the pass rush."
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Rather than stage a "hold-in" like his then-teammate Matthew Judon, Godchaux decided to participate in training practices and hope that he and Wolf could agree on a new deal that included guaranteed money. That strategy paid off, with Godchaux landing an extension on July 31 that reportedly came with $16.5 million in guarantees.
"Me and my agent ended up taking a whole other approach when it came to training camp," Godchaux said. "I practiced in pads the first couple of days, and then about the third day in pads, I got paid. We were just like a million or two off.
"I’m like, 'Eliot, let’s just get this done. I wanna be here. You guys want me here. Let’s just get it done.' And then we end up getting it done.”
Godchaux's new deal was one of several that Wolf and Co. handed out to Patriots veterans this offseason. But one veteran who didn't get a new deal was Judon, whom New England traded to the Atlanta Falcons after the two sides couldn't find common ground.
Judon lamented after the trade that Wolf never met with him face-to-face to try to find common ground, but in Godchaux's case, it sounds like a few phone calls were enough to get their business done.