Tuesday, February 25, 2014

McCourty focused on football, not contract extension

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

He may be heading into the final year of his contract, but New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty has more important things on his mind than an extension.

He's looking for another win against his twin brother.

McCourty was at Boston Children's Hospital Tuesday to talk with doctors about sickle cell disease as he gears up for the second-annual "Tackle Sickle Cell" campaign, put on by he and his brother, fellow defensive back and Tennessee Titan Jason McCourty.

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss caught up with Devin in the midst of some community service in the hospital's cafeteria and asked the 26-year-old about his future beyond 2014 with the Patriots.

"I don't even think about it," he said. "I go out, play football, and I truly believe the rest will take care of itself ... There's nothing else I can control. I like to not drive myself crazy and by doing that, it's focusing on what you can control."

What he can control is his efforts to bring in donations for the twins' cause and for their annual 5k run/walk, which will once again feature a little sibling rivalry. The two will partake in the "usual bet" as it seems, where the man to raise the least amount of money will dress up as the other's team mascot and sign autographs for an afternoon. 

Devin got the best of brother Jason a year ago, and the two had plenty of trash talk for each other for this year's event in their promotional video on their website. The two were able to raise $40,000 at last year's event, and they're hoping to "blow what we did out of the water" this year, according to Shalize Manza Young of the Boston Globe earlier this month.

Back to Devin's expiring contract, the five-year vet is slated to bring in $3.92 million in this his final year, though he can almost double that through incentives. Brother Jason signed a six-year, $44.26 million extension in 2012 and is slated to make $6.5 million this upcoming season when factoring in roster bonuses, a deal Devin will surely be looking to match -- if not now, certainly some time in the near future. 

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