Winning a Super Bowl is the goal of every NFL player, but there are others as well. Making it into the Hall of Fame, setting records, earning a second contract, maybe just finding a spot on a roster to begin with — different players have different motivations.
For Kendrick Bourne, there is another one: taking care of his family.
Entering his second season with the New England Patriots and sixth in the league overall, Bourne is in a position to do that. First up were his parents, who recently received a surprise: the 26-year-old bought them a house in the Portland, OR, area.
“It’s a big house, it cost me a lot of money. Just something I’ve been dreaming of doing, and I’m really happy I was able to do it,” Bourne said in a video posted to his YouTube channel.
“I’m not dripping on money. It’s more about making my family happy, my mom happy, my dad happy. Just taking care of them for the rest of their lives. They took care of me for the beginning of my whole life. It’s time to repay.”
Originally entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the San Francisco 49ers, Bourne developed into a reliable receiver that drew the Patriots’ interest in free agency last offseason. They ended up signing him to a three-year, $15 million contract; he responded by building some early chemistry with quarterback Mac Jones and producing the statistically best season of his career.
Now entering Year 2 as a Patriot, Bourne’s focus is on getting better — all while making sure his family is taken care of as well.
“It’s going to be an exciting season. I made a lot of changes in my life the last few months, this offseason,” he said. “Coming off the season I had, I feel like I could have done way better. So, just doing little things like this off the field to get it out of the way so I can focus on the season. ...
“When I bought my house I just had big plans for my whole family. So, this is one of the next steps in the chapters in my life.”
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