Former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes says he 'took a paycut' going from Florida to NFL

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Perry, A. (2026, October 21). Former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes says he 'took a paycut' going from Florida to NFL. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/former-patriots-linebacker-brandon-spikes-took-paycut-florida-nfl

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-21 · by Austin Perry

Quick Summary

Brandon Spikes, a retired NFL linebacker who played for the New England Patriots after college at Florida, told a podcast that he effectively took a pay cut when leaving Florida for the NFL due to high taxes in Massachusetts. He joked about earning significant under-the-table income during his time at Florida and having his mother live with him while he was a Gator. Spikes emphasized the financial impact of playing in "Taxachusetts," though much of his initial statement was intended humorously.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Retired NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes has revealed that he accepted a pay cut when transitioning from college football at Florida to the NFL with the New England Patriots. Spikes, who was a five-star prospect from Shelby, North Carolina, committed to the University of Florida in 2006 and became part of a highly successful recruiting class featuring Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. During his time at Florida, Spikes had a decorated career with two All-American selections and contributed to two national championships. Drafted late in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Spikes played five seasons out of seven with the Patriots before retiring. In an interview on the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast, Spikes mentioned that he was financially comfortable during his college years and took a pay cut to pursue his professional football career in the NFL.

Written for “Brandon Spikes Pay Cut Move” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Brandon Spikes Pay Cut Move
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 4968 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Austin Perry
45 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Seven games into his tenure, Meyer has been blown away by Sumrall, and joined Dan Dakich on his show, "Don't @ Me," to discuss how he had a small part in helping usher the new Gator to The Swamp this past fall. "I don't like him, I love the guy," Meyer said with the same smile a proud older sibling would wear when talking about his younger brother's accomplishments.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 And who could blame them?
🔮 "It's shocking that (Alabama) would be the location," he admits.
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🔮 You would have been forgiven if you had turned this game off sometime around the middle of the second quarter.
🔮 What this means for the Wildcats and first-year head coach Will Stein can't be overstated, as the new Kentucky head man now has two top-ten wins in his first six games on the job, and the arrow is pointing straight up in the Bluegrass State as of mid-October. But on the opposite sideline on Saturday night, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin was left with more questions than answers as the honeymoon phase in Baton Rouge likely came to a screeching halt.
Also by Austin Perry
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Topics

Florida Gators NFL Patriots Shelby

Subjects

Spikes PERSON · 9× Florida GPE · 2× Gators ORG · 2× NFL ORG · 2× Patriots ORG · 2× Brandon Spikes PERSON · 1× North Carolina GPE · 1× Percy Harvin PERSON · 1× Shelby GPE · 1× Tim Tebow PERSON · 1×

Narrative

After a decorated college career which included two All-American selections and two national championships, Spikes was drafted late in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, where he spent five of his seven seasons in the league.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
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Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

Retired NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes has had an interesting football journey. asserted
Spikes → retire → journey
The former five-star prospect from Shelby, North Carolina committed to Florida out of high school and was a part of the loaded 2006 recruiting class that featured himself as well as college football legends Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. asserted
that → commit → himself
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
After a decorated college career which included two All-American selections and two national championships, Spikes was drafted late in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, where he spent five of his seven seasons in the league. asserted
he → include → league
The dream for every young man growing up playing football is to ultimately hear their name called by the commissioner of the NFL on draft day, but Spikes claims he had to make some personal (and financial) sacrifices before going pro. uncertain
he → grow → sacrifices
As a guest on the popular "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast, the former Patriots linebacker revealed he wasn't exactly hurting for money while in college. asserted
he → reveal → college
"To be honest, I took a f—ing pay cut when I left 'Gainesvegas,'" Spikes said when asked about how much money he made while playing for the Gators. asserted
he → take → Gators
Mind you, this was pre-NIL, so anything Spikes earned was all under the table at the time. asserted
Spikes → mind → time
While his response elicited a laugh from both Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, who were high-level college players in their own right, Spikes was mostly being tongue-in-cheek with his answer. asserted
Spikes → elicit → answer
He did, however, reveal the numbers were a lot closer when factoring in Uncle Sam, referring to Massachusetts as "Taxachusetts" due to the high income taxes he incurred while playing for New England. asserted
he → reveal → England
"You played in Foxborough," Spikes asked. asserted
Spikes → play → Foxborough
"That check looks a little bit different when you walk up out of there." asserted
you → look → ?
When asked by Compton whether he cleared seven-figures while wearing orange and blue, Spikes denied it, playing it coy before adding that the university found a way to move his mom down to Florida while he was playing for the Gators. asserted
he → ask → Gators
"Those same home-cooked meals I got my whole life, I got those right there in Gainesville," he joked. asserted
he → cook → Gainesville
If you are one of the few fans still believing kids weren't getting paid before the advent of NIL, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but players like Spikes were living large long before it was "legal" to do so. asserted
it → believe → Spikes
Let's all give Spikes a hand for being so charitable to take a cut in pay to play for the Patriots. asserted
's → let → Patriots
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