New Orleans Saints: Locking up Michael Thomas not as easy as it seems
Michael Thomas did not report to New Orleans Saints training camp as he continues to try and get a lucrative new contract but it’s not an easy deal to make.
The talk that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas wants a new contract is nothing new, nor is it anything all that surprising. After all, the pass-catcher is coming off of an All-Pro season in which he caught 125 balls for over 1,400 yards. Furthermore, he’s in the last year of his rookie deal, making just over $1.1 million for the 2019 season. Thus, it’s not hard to see why he wants to be compensated according to his contributions.
However, as reported by ESPN’s Mike Triplett, Thomas is starting Saints training camp by holding out and not showing up. That, of course, is because the two sides have not reached a new deal and, though Thomas showed up at OTAs this offseason, it appears he’s now feeling the urgency of getting that contract completed before he gets back to work.
Triplett noted in his report that ESPN’s Josina Anderson recently reported that the Saints were comfortable making Thomas the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. However, given the fact that Thomas may want to dramatically reset the market beyond just getting a record-breaking deal for the position and their current cap situation, things are a bit tricky.
Even making Thomas the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL puts New Orleans in a tricky position given their outlook in the coming years. Drew Brees and Andrus Peat will be needing new deals after 2020 while Alvin Kamara will be looking for his next contract after 2021. And that’s just big names over the next two years, not including what lies beyond.
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That clearly means that the Saints are going to be shoveling out boatloads of cash over the next couple of offseasons. And while the players are deserving, New Orleans isn’t in the greatest of salary cap situations.
Per Over the Cap, the Saints have just $12 million in cap space remaining in 2019 and only $37 million available for the 2020 season. Given the deals that they need to get done, putting an astronomical number on the books to pay Thomas complicates the moves that they still have to make a great deal.
To be clear, Thomas is worth every penny of being the highest-paid wideout in the NFL. His consistent level of production in New Orleans and the fact that he’s still just 26 years old means that he deserves that type of contract. This isn’t about the player at all but rather about team-building and the trials that come with maneuvering around the salary cap.
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A betting man would be wise to put his money on the Saints and Thomas getting a deal done during training camp and the wide receiver ultimately reporting after. Having said that, there’s a reason that this is taking time. It’s not a simple “pay the man” scenario here. Paying Thomas makes the Saints’ job harder in the immediate future, which is what they have to consider before handing out a new lucrative contract to their star pass-catcher.