echostar communications corporation notes to consolidated financial statements - continued closing price of the class a common stock on the last business day of each calendar quarter in which such shares of class a common stock are deemed sold to an employee under the espp . the espp shall terminate upon the first to occur of ( i ) october 1 , 2007 or ( ii ) the date on which the espp is terminated by the board of directors . during 2000 , 2001 and 2002 employees purchased approximately 58000 ; 80000 and 108000 shares of class a common stock through the espp , respectively . 401 ( k ) employee savings plan echostar sponsors a 401 ( k ) employee savings plan ( the 201c401 ( k ) plan 201d ) for eligible employees . voluntary employee contributions to the 401 ( k ) plan may be matched 50% ( 50 % ) by echostar , subject to a maximum annual contribution by echostar of $ 1000 per employee . matching 401 ( k ) contributions totaled approximately $ 1.6 million , $ 2.1 million and $ 2.4 million during the years ended december 31 , 2000 , 2001 and 2002 , respectively . echostar also may make an annual discretionary contribution to the plan with approval by echostar 2019s board of directors , subject to the maximum deductible limit provided by the internal revenue code of 1986 , as amended . these contributions may be made in cash or in echostar stock . forfeitures of unvested participant balances which are retained by the 401 ( k ) plan may be used to fund matching and discretionary contributions . expense recognized relating to discretionary contributions was approximately $ 7 million , $ 225 thousand and $ 17 million during the years ended december 31 , 2000 , 2001 and 2002 , respectively . 9 . commitments and contingencies leases future minimum lease payments under noncancelable operating leases as of december 31 , 2002 , are as follows ( in thousands ) : year ending december 31 .
are the commitments to acquire echostar receiver systems and related components greater than the commitments for future lease payments?
total rent expense for operating leases approximated $ 9 million , $ 14 million and $ 16 million in 2000 , 2001 and 2002 , respectively . purchase commitments as of december 31 , 2002 , echostar 2019s purchase commitments totaled approximately $ 359 million . the majority of these commitments relate to echostar receiver systems and related components . all of the purchases related to these commitments are expected to be made during 2003 . echostar expects to finance these purchases from existing unrestricted cash balances and future cash flows generated from operations . patents and intellectual property many entities , including some of echostar 2019s competitors , now have and may in the future obtain patents and other intellectual property rights that cover or affect products or services directly or indirectly related to those that echostar offers . echostar may not be aware of all patents and other intellectual property rights that its products may potentially infringe . damages in patent infringement cases can include a tripling of actual damages in certain cases . further , echostar cannot estimate the extent to which it may be required in the future to obtain licenses with respect to .