FOR BRADY, THESE AREN'T PAY-TRIOTS.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A merry band of brothers these Patriots are, checking their egos, agendas and paychecks at the door like others check fur coats.

It's all for one and one for all - and if you don't believe it, just watch them run out en masse for the Super Bowl introductions.

It's how they won a Super Bowl last year and reached this one after losing two Pro Bowlers each time - Lawyer Milloy and Damien Woody last season, and Ty Law and Richard Seymour this time.

How else do you explain their presence here with one defensive back, Troy Brown, who had been a receiver his first 12 years in the NFL and another, Hank Poteat, who three weeks ago was getting ready for classes at the University of Pittsburgh?

In an era of salary cap restraints, New England is in a position to win its third Super Bowl in four years because of coach Bill Belichick's faith in a system where depth and versatility trump star power.

In Belichick 101, nobody is indispensable and everyone is disposable. Bernie Kosar in Cleveland. Milloy. ...

Tom Brady?

There's nothing to suggest Brady won't be a Patriot for life, but what the quarterback may do - particularly with another win Sunday - is test the commitment to Belichick's philosophy.

The man with the squeaky clean image and playoff record to match may have a million-dollar smile, but with two seasons remaining on a contract that pays him $30 million over five years, he's one of the NFL's best bargains.

Consider that Brady's entire contract will pay him less than the $33.4 million signing bonus Indianapolis awarded Peyton Manning last year.

Or that contemporaries Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper all have signed contracts worth in excess of $100 million.

Brady's contract averages out to $6 million per year, the same as the deal Aaron Brooks has with the Saints.

Asked Wednesday if his competitiveness comes into play when he sees the contracts of the rest of the NFL's best quarterbacks, Brady paused and smiled.

``I could probably talk all day about that,'' he said. ``The business side of this game is very different than the playing side. ...

``I know when I signed my deal a couple of years ago, it was a darn good deal and I feel good about the team's commitment and I think they feel good about what I have done for this team and this organization. But unfortunately, those decisions aren't made by players. We can't go out there and offer ourselves anything.''

There has been talk that Brady's contract would be reworked after the season, which could also give the Patriots some cap relief. Brady's agent, Los Angeles-based Don Yee, declined comment.

``We're going to pay Tom Brady in the end what he deserves to be paid,'' Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. ``He's on the contract for two more years. He understands the importance of building a complete team. He's very important to our future. Our fans should know Tom Brady, one way or the other, will be with us.''

When Belichick and personnel chief Scott Pioli arrived in 2000, the Patriots' salary cap was a mess, the result of bad investments after their Super Bowl run in 1996.

``We're trying to pay market value and make sure we're getting the support for what we're paying,'' Kraft said. ``If you make mistakes in this system and overpay for people who don't perform, you're not going to win. But at the same time you can't attract people if you don't pay fair market value.''

The Patriots have been helped by the willingness of veterans Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi to restructure their contracts or for younger players like Matt Light to take hometown discounts on longer deals.

All said they want to be in New England because it's a place they can win.

When the Patriots won last season, proving that the championship two years earlier was no fluke, it made New England a desirable place for players, agent Jerome Stanley said.

``Players like to play somewhere they can win,'' Stanley said. ``They also like to be on national TV, which comes with winning.

``If a player sees that he's going to be on 'Monday Night Football' or 'Sunday Night Football,' that's big to them. That's currency. You can shun individualism in the meeting room, but if you get in the playoffs or on 'Monday Night Football,' the announcers are going to point out the individuals.''

Nobody has been singled out more than Brady.

He was invited to the White House last year for the State of the Union address by President Bush, his hairstyle gets as much discussion in Boston as his throwing arm, and at 27 yearsold he's given up on a private life.

``It's tough,'' he said. ``Maybe I'll get a mask with the big nose and glasses.''

Yet in the locker room, Brady has taken great pains not to melt in with his teammates.

He spreads praise around the room, is respectful to opponents and says winning comes above all else. But there is not only talk, but deeds.

When Drew Bledsoe was hurt in 2001, he declined to hold the quarterback's weekly news conference in the Patriots' auditorium - where Bledsoe did - out of respect for him. Instead, the gatherings took place in the locker room in front of his locker.

As the Patriots continued to win and the media crowds grew, Brady refused to move them until quietly acquiescing late this season.

``Most of the guys on this team, the team is the most important thing and Brady exemplifies that just by the way he carries himself,'' said Roman Phifer, a 14-year veteran. ``When egos come in and guys begin to question what's more important - your own gratification or does the team come first - when all those things come into play, it can be like a cancer to a team.''

Conversely, if Brady, the man with two Super Bowl MVP trophies, isn't going to gripe about his salary, how can anyone else?

This humility comes naturally and is hard earned.

``I've never been the fastest guy in the world, I never moved the best, I never been very strong,'' Brady said. ``I was the backup quarterback on a freshman high school team that went 0-8. That tells you how bad I was. I couldn't crack the starting lineup on a team that didn't win a game. I remember that. I remember going to college and being a seventh-string quarterback my first year and then coming here and being a fourth-string quarterback.

``Those are the types of things that motivate you. You don't forget where you came from. Those scars that you have from those days are deep scars. That's not something where you go, oh, wow, I won - I'm great now.''

Brady said he tries to balance his desire to be paid his market value with what will best allow the team to afford a championship-caliber roster.

``I work hard, I feel I work as hard as anyone in the league, any quarterback,'' Brady said. ``I feel I'm prepared and that's what I really enjoy.

``On the other hand, anyone that chooses to play on the Patriots realizes that goal (of winning Super Bowls) supersedes any other individual player goal. You have to make decisions as an individual on whether you want to be a member of this team or not.

``You're going to make sacrifices like anyone on this team makes sacrifices in the team's best interest. I know what is best for me and I know where my priorities are and when that decision comes up, I'll do what's best for me.''

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com

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(color) TOM BRADY

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