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FOXBORO - Vince Wilfork had two choices: Make a point and lose up to $500,000 of his salary, or swallow his pride and possibly gain a few important allies in the process.

Wilfork appeared to choose wisely Wednesday.

Showing up for the first day of the Patriots' mandatory, full-squad minicamp at the Gillette Stadium practice complex, the veteran nose tackle said he had no trouble meeting the obligations of his existing contract while trying to prod along negotiations on a new pact.

"It's something mandatory," he said after the first minicamp practice. "I signed up to a six-year deal and I'm going to meet all my obligations and that's being here for mandatory stuff. So that's why I was here. It wasn't a big deal whether I was going to show up or not."

Wilfork's decision not to hold out during the minicamp appeared to impress the fellow who signs his checks, Patriots' owner Robert Kraft. "Vince and I have a great relationship," said Kraft, noting that he and Wilfork conversed during the Patriots Charitable Foundation golf tournament Monday in Bolton. "We both understand that this is not personal in any way. This is just each side doing their business, and one way or another, I'm sure things will get resolved."

It won't be resolved overnight, from all indications. But at least for the time being, Wilfork is not drawing a line in the sand that Kraft and Bill Belichick won't cross, and that makes things a lot less contentious than they might become.

Training camp may be another thing altogether.

"It's still my decision," the sixth-year veteran out of Miami said. "I'll talk to my wife and see what it may be, but it's hard to tell a guy who loves the game the way I love it to sit out.

"Even the OTAs that weren't mandatory, it was tough because I love football," he said. "But at the same time I knew the situation. It wasn't mandatory. I could have been out here. But now everything is starting to pick up. A lot of game-planning stuff is starting to go in that I need to be here for and I'm going to be here."

Wilfork did not attend the organized team activities of the offseason because, as he said, they were "voluntary." But had he wanted to extend his protest into the full-squad minicamp, he risked as much as $500,000 in fines according to the terms of the expiring collective bargaining agreement between the players and the teams.

"I wasn't trying to make a point," he said. "They knew. I didn't leave them in the blind. I told them I wasn't coming. They understand the business aspect to it. So we're moving forward from here.

"Football is my life," he said. "This is what I love. My family knows I love it, but at the same time I have to do what's smart for my family. But right now the smart thing is to be here and get back playing football, what I do best. Let's see what happens from here."

If football is Wilfork's life, he said that the business side of it is a necessary evil.

"Unless something happens, I look forward to being a New England Patriot for this upcoming season and for the future," he said. "So I let my agent and all those guys handle that business part of it. I'll be strapping my cleats up out here practicing with my teammates. "I'm just so excited to be back on the practice field, even though it's practice," he said. "Too many people don't get excited about practice, but I am because I've been out for two weeks and I missed it. You can tell. I was running around having fun with guys today and feel good. So I'm just looking forward to progress and if it (doesn't happen), it is what it is. It'll take care of itself and I can only control what I can control and that's playing football."

Wilfork is entering the last year of his rookie contract, but his path to megabucks may be blunted by the fact that the Patriots selected three nose tackles in the recent NFL Draft, BC's Ron Brace in the forefront of that list of potential replacements. The Patriots assign value to each player and rarely go beyond that estimation when contract time goes.

"I mean, it's a business," Wilfork said. "There's always the possibility something might work out or might not. So it's 50-50. Who knows. But until that time comes, I can only sit and wait and hopefully it will work out for the best."

For the time being, Wilfork knows he has the support of his teammates, especially the veterans who have been through the process.

"There's nothing like coming to a group of guys like this who show you so much respect and I love going to war with," he said. "That's what these guys give me out here every day. I'm here in camp having fun and there's nothing like being around a group of guys that love you. My teammates showed me a lot of love, a lot of respect. They know what I bring to this game."

Wilfork is optimistic that a new deal can be worked out.

"I hope it does," he said. "I'm very positive about this whole thing. This organization has been very good to my family and me and vice versa. I've been good to this organization and this team."

As for Kraft? He pays other people to worry about the details.

"I leave the heavy lifting to our football people," the owner said. "They're much better at it than I am."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.