Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Source: Sullivan ending holdout, agrees to 7-year, $19 million deal with Saints
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer

Saints first-round draft pick Johnathan Sullivan has agreed in principle to a seven-year, $19 million contract with the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, ending a six-day holdout from training camp, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Times-Picayune.

Sullivan, the No. 6 overall selection in the NFL draft was expected to sign the contract Wednesday night. An official anouncement is expected Thursday. He is expected to participate in Thursday's 3 p.m. practice.

The contract includes $11.4 million in bonuses and clauses that void the final two years of the deal if Sullivan meets playing time thresholds during the first five seasons. He will receive a $7.4 million signing bonus and is due a $4 million option bonus at a later time. The final two seasons are void if Sullivan plays in 35 percent of the defensive snaps this season or 45 percent of the snaps in any of the next four seasons.

Negotiations between Sullivan's agent, Len Rowe, and Saints negotiator Russ Ball had reached a stalemate over the weekend but intensified Tuesday, when the two sides made considerable progress on the structure of the deal. Rowe and Sullivan were so optimistic, they flew to New Orleans on Wednesday morning to finalize details and language of the deal.

Sullivan, a 6-3, 313-pound lineman from Georgia, is expected to compete with veteran Grady Jackson for the starting nose tackle position.

His signing will leave only six first-round picks unsigned: Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich, Philadelphia defensive end Jerome McDougle, Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller, Buffalo running Willis McGahee, Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark and Giants defensive end William Joseph. Leftwich, the No. 7 pick, is the only top 10 pick who has not agreed to terms.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Tom you just made my day brother.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

I\'m so happy. Now Sullivan will be at the Black and Gold Scrimmage.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Damn!! Talk about hot off the press!!! I\'ve been checking on multiple occasions daily all kinds of sites for this exact post! TG you made my night as well!!

Hell Yeah!

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

\"I Love it when a plan comes together\"

-Hannibal (The \"A Team\")

I pity the fool that thinks the Saints won\'t win the Super Bowl this year!

[Edited on 31/7/2003 by roughneck]

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

This is good, now lets see him play(or at least practice)

[Edited on 31/7/2003 by Cooky591]

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

I hope it doesn\'t void to 5 years! That\'s a pretty short deal for a top-10 pick.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

This is great! If he is gonna be part of this new, faster defense and we expect him to start. He needs to be in camp. I hope he will get to do work in the scrimage, I\'m looking foward to seeing what he can do. Along with the rest of the defense.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Gotta give you a ATTABOY for that one Tom. Thanks for the input.

[Edited on 31/7/2003 by JOESAM2002]

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Hell, don\'t hold back JoeSam give him 2. ;)

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

OK A THUMBS UP AND ANOTHER ATTABOY. And on another note. Come on all you SISSYMARY\'S get in the leagues.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Joe, I keep trying to join that SOB and it keeps telling me invalid password. Maybe it\'s a gay league and I don\'t qualify........... :P

[Edited on 31/7/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

This now means ALL of our draft picks have been signed???? Is this correct?

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

All are signed or have agreed to terms. All will be in camp by tonight.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Now we can start the \"next\" phase of the plan....building \"chemistry\"

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Sullivan, Saints agree to seven-year deal

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com


Defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, who had been the highest first-rounder still out of training camp, reached agreement with the New Orleans Saints on his first contract, and is expected to begin practicing with the team on Thursday.

The former University of Georgia star, expected to start as a rookie, checked into the Saints\' camp late Wednesday night and, barring any unexpected last-minute glitches, will sign the contract on Thursday. Sullivan, who missed the first six days of camp, was the sixth player selected overall this year.

The contract is for seven years, but will void to just five seasons, provided that Sullivan reaches minimum playing time levels. Total value of the contract is $19 million and the total bonus money, $11.4 million, is the highest ever paid in franchise history.

Sullivan, 22, will receive an initial signing bonus of $7.4 million and then a second-tier option bonus of $4 million next spring. His agreement leaves five first-round choices still out of training camps.

New Orleans coveted Sullivan so much in the draft that the Saints traded a pair of first-round choices, the 17th and 18th overall, to Arizona for the right to move into the No. 6 slot and choose the former Bulldogs star. New Orleans had also been eyeing another defensive tackle, Dewayne Robertson of Kentucky, but a deal with the Chicago Bears, for the fourth overall spot in the draft, fell through.

The Saints are intent on upgrading a defense that statistically ranked No. 27 in the league in 2002, and was 19th against the run. Throughout the spring, the team made free agent moves to improve the unit, and to augment its overall speed. Sullivan, however, has been regarded as a key piece of the puzzle.

At 6-feet-3 and 313 pounds, he has prototype size and excellent quickness and, when he is on his game, can be a very disruptive defender. Sullivan, who bypassed his final year of college eligibility to enter the draft, was a two-year starter for Georgia and the third defensive end the team has drafted in the past three years.

Sullivan played in 35 games in three seasons, and started 23 contests, finishing his career with 154 tackles, nine sacks, 53 quarterback pressures and two fumble recoveries. In the spring drills, he worked with the Saints\' first-unit defense, and likely will assume a job in the lineup once he is in football condition.


Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

I\'ma tell ya\'ll this kid better come in and produce in a hurry. He better damn well start for what we\'re payin him. :o

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Sainfan, you got to quit holding back, you\'re gonna explode lol.

However, I do agree with you.

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

Yeah, he got a pretty sweet figure on that signing bonus. Better than most number 6\'s, isn\'t it?

Sullivan ends holdout.
 

I say; Let\'s trust Haz on this. The rest of the picks he has made along the D-Line have been excellent (Howard, Grant etc..) The front office seems to have a knack for finding the diamonds in the rough (Horn, Lewis etc..) I trust these moves (Trading up, big bonus etc.) I would like him to be the next coming of Sapp as well, but I for one will give it time.