Amendola explains decision-making behind contract restructure

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Danny Amendola joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak and Bertrand Show with Scott Zolak and Marc Bertrand on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after the details of his newly restructured contract became public

Asked how he came to make the decision, Amendola repeatedly explained that there was nowhere else he wanted to be. In order to remain with the Patriots, he was willing to cut his base salary down from $5 million to $1.25 million. He also received a $100,000 signing bonus, and he'll earn $25,000 for as many as 10 games for which he's on the game-day roster.

"I spent so much time with these guys and put in so much work, and I love playing for coach [Bill Belichick] and the staff and the best city in the country," Amendola said, "so I'm excited to be back."

Amendola hinted that he and the team had engaged in ongoing discussions about the possibility of a newly restructured deal for some time. It's the second consecutive offseason during which Amendola has agreed to a restructured deal.

"It was in the works," he said. "I felt like coach Belichick and I had kind of a few good conversations about what we thought about the future and went from there. Obviously I decided to stay here."

Amendola's $1.35 million in guaranteed money for 2016 all but locks him in for a roster spot out of training camp. Along with Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan, his presence near the top end of the depth chart of the receiver position has been solidified. Fourth-round receiver Malcolm Mitchell is also expected to stick, but there will be an interesting battle for roster spots between Aaron Dobson, Chris Harper, Keshawn Martin and Nate Washington.

Amendola was asked if the depth at the position pushed him to feel as though he needed to take a pay cut in order to remain in New England.

"I feel like we're always pretty deep going into every season," he replied. "Every team, they try to stack their [roster] up and see what roles each guy can kind of fill out. That's no different this year. We have a lot of talent in our room. And a lot of guys that are ready to make plays.

"Most importantly, I love this city. I love playing for the Pats. And I love the atmosphere that coach Belichick creates everyday. That's ultimately why I want to play here."

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