As the Patriots fell to the bottom of the league last season, they also ranked near the bottom of the NFL in cash spending.

While the Pats may or may not rebound as a winning team in 2024, don’t expect them to remain among the league’s cheaper teams next season.

“We’re bringing in talent, 1,000%. We have a lot of cap space — and cash,” Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said with a chuckle Monday on WEEI. “We’re ready to burn some cash!”

The Patriots are scheduled to have $66 million in cap space this offseason, fourth-most in the NFL, per Over The Cap. However, while the Patriots have historically spent to the cap, they’ve invested less hard cash — which can create more room under the artificial cap and lure big-ticket free agents — than most teams.

According to ESPN, the Patriots rank dead last in cash spending over the last decade. They ranked 31st out of 32 teams last season, per Over the Cap. In each of the next three seasons, the Pats are scheduled to rank bottom-5 in cash spending, which could change pending the team’s moves in free agency this March.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft recently addressed the topic of cash spending, which became a growing issue over the last four years of Bill Belichick’s tenure.

“(Belichick)’s never come to me, and not gotten everything he wanted from cash spending,” Kraft said last year. “We have never set limits. This is a project of passion, and we want to win. Money spending will never be the issue. I promise you. Or I’ll sell the team.”

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Kraft has yet to name Belichick’s successor at the head of his front office, which continues to operate under director of player personnel Matt Groh and director of scouting Eliot Wolf. Kraft has said he wants to learn what he has internally before conducting an external search for that position, something he did not do before promoting Mayo into Belichick’s role as head coach two weeks ago.

Mayo’s comments on WEEI came less than two months before the start of free agency, when the Patriots could lose several starters — safety Kyle Dugger, tight end Hunter Henry, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and offensive tackles Trent Brown and Mike Onwenu — to the open market.

Potential outside free agents include Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith and Texans tight end Dalton Schultz.