Under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, any player with four or more years of experience that is on a team's 53-man roster for Week 1 is entitled to his guaranteed salary for that season.
If a player with four or more years of experience is signed after Week 1 of the regular season, his salary is not guaranteed. That opens the door for the team to release a veteran player signed after Week 1 without financial penalty. As an example, the Jets released quarterback Brady Quinn on Saturday -- with signs pointing towards them re-signing him this week -- so that he would not have his full guaranteed salary. If the team does in fact re-sign him and subsequently release him, Quinn would not earn his full base salary.
For the Patriots, there are 18 players who have at least four years of experience on their roster, meaning they are each entitled to their guaranteed salary.
WR Danny Amendola
CB Kyle Arrington
QB Tom Brady
DB Marquice Cole
WR Julian Edelman
K Stephen Gostkowski
DT Tommy Kelly
LB Jerod Mayo
DE Rob Ninkovich
WR Matthew Slater
OL Will Svitek
CB Aqib Talib
OT Sebastian Vollmer
RB Leon Washington
DT Vince Wilfork
If any other veteran of four or more seasons is signed from here on out, he will only earn his base salary for as many weeks as he is on the roster. Players are paid weekly throughout the season, typically on Tuesdays.