Ever heard of Deuce McAllister? Retired at 34 after making +/- 70MMin the NFL.

Today at 45 years old he’s with around 150k at best. That is the REAL world whether you like it or not.

Some of these players come from families that never saw 6 figure income before them and won’t see it after. They are the only shot at generations not needing a scholarship for an education. You might be angry about them getting what they can when they can but I’m not.

Saying "I want to get paid" and holding out is saying something about his current deal.

Of course Kamara would like to play out his current deal. His current deal pays $25 million in 2025. On the open market he might get something like $8 million. So yes, he would play for 3x what any other team would pay him.

And given that $25 million is so ridiculous, and no team would pay him close to that, of course he would be 'generously' willing to reduce that a little in return for more years. Such as $15 million in 2025, 2026, and 2027 or something so he can 'retire a Saint.'

The thing is that Kamara is 29. He is already under contract for a generous $12 million in 2024. He has shown significant signs of decline. If he wants to take less money in 2025 to avoid being cut thats fine, but if he wants guaranteed in 2026 and beyond thats just not realistic. No NFL team is going to guarantee money 2 years out to a RB who will be 31 and is already declining, with no idea whether he will be a viable starter or some sort of late career Kevin Faulk 3rd down role player or simply not needed if he is passed on the depth chart and his replacement turns out to also be a good pass catcher or he is injured.

Kamara is not underpaid. The Saints can cut him at any time if he declines. He is not being wronged and the Saints have nothing to gain in return by giving him more guarantees, unless in return he will play for a salary that is actually a decent deal, say $7 million per year. It would be massively irresponsible to give Kamara big money like $10 million in 2026 or even to partially guarantee anything in 2026 where he walks away with $5 million if cut in the likely scenario where he is not worth that money then. Giving a 29 year old RB an guarantees for years when he will be 31 or 32 or 33 when he is already declining would be financially irresponsible charity.

If Kamara really wants to be with the Saints in 2026, 2027, 2028 there is nothing that prevents him signing year to year deals that are common for 30 something RBs. If he wants guarantees in those years, the most that would be financially responsible would be to give him $5 million player options, kind of Kevin Faulk money, for those years, that he can opt out of if still a starter, in return for reducing his 2025 salary to $10 million or less with at most half guaranteed.

It's called Capitalism and if he's wrong then so are the rest of us who don't think we're just OK making what we are, when we can make more.

Saying "I want to get paid" and holding out is saying something about his current deal.

Of course Kamara would like to play out his current deal. His current deal pays $25 million in 2025. On the open market he might get something like $8 million. So yes, he would play for 3x what any other team would pay him.

And given that $25 million is so ridiculous, and no team would pay him close to that, of course he would be 'generously' willing to reduce that a little in return for more years. Such as $15 million in 2025, 2026, and 2027 or something so he can 'retire a Saint.'

The thing is that Kamara is 29. He is already under contract for a generous $12 million in 2024. He has shown significant signs of decline. If he wants to take less money in 2025 to avoid being cut thats fine, but if he wants guaranteed in 2026 and beyond thats just not realistic. No NFL team is going to guarantee money 2 years out to a RB who will be 31 and is already declining, with no idea whether he will be a viable starter or some sort of late career Kevin Faulk 3rd down role player or simply not needed if he is passed on the depth chart and his replacement turns out to also be a good pass catcher or he is injured.

Kamara is not underpaid. The Saints can cut him at any time if he declines. He is not being wronged and the Saints have nothing to gain in return by giving him more guarantees, unless in return he will play for a salary that is actually a decent deal, say $7 million per year. It would be massively irresponsible to give Kamara big money like $10 million in 2026 or even to partially guarantee anything in 2026 where he walks away with $5 million if cut in the likely scenario where he is not worth that money then. Giving a 29 year old RB an guarantees for years when he will be 31 or 32 or 33 when he is already declining would be financially irresponsible charity.

If Kamara really wants to be with the Saints in 2026, 2027, 2028 there is nothing that prevents him signing year to year deals that are common for 30 something RBs. If he wants guarantees in those years, the most that would be financially responsible would be to give him $5 million player options, kind of Kevin Faulk money, for those years, that he can opt out of if still a starter, in return for reducing his 2025 salary to $10 million or less with at most half guaranteed.

Career Earnings:

McCaffery $65MM
Kamara $43 MM

Virtually identical statistics and age (CM is 1yr younger).

Kamara is certainly not overpaid either.

You cited "significant signs of decline". What are those exactly beyond the circumstances out of his control?

Aside from being underutilized (and along with the easy scapegoating of Carmichael), if you study film, you can see him bringing less fire when he is utilized. It happens when some players achieve celebrity status, and they start looking at maximum money for minimum effort and risk to injury. Unfortunately, we have become a culture that celebrates celebrity more than what the game is supposed to be about, so it comes as no surprise that some on here will defend his right to earn as much as possible, while avoiding impact (and having less of an impact on the field). He’s soft, but he has a nice shiny smile.

Looks like you’re more of a fan of celebrity financial independence, and less of a fan of BEAST MODE FOOTBALL. We’re different, but if that’s the prevailing trend, game has indeed changed.

Oh, so you do film study now? How in depth? More than these guys?


From 2021
https://www.canalstreetchronicles.co...tion-than-ever

Film Study: Alvin Kamara still productive despite commanding more attention than ever
Teams could ignore most of the Saints’ offense and be fine, but Kamara continues to get his touches

From 2022
https://neworleans.football/saints-a...ara-third-down

Alvin Kamara trotting off the field on third downs has become a sore spot for everyone watching games this season.

How could the Saints take their best player off the field in those situations? Why isn’t he getting the ball?

We’ve tried to rationalize it by looking at the results. Maybe it’s about Kamara’s pass blocking? By any measure, he hasn’t been great in that area this season, allowing seven pressures, including one sack and two quarterback hits on 44 attempts this season. That’s too many, and it looked like the team might have decided to stop using him in those situations after missing a block against the Bucs.

Kamara was asked after the win over Cleveland why he’s coming off the field on third downs and if it had anything to do with his pass protection.

“I don’t think it is,” Kamara said. “I don’t know. You got to ask someone else. I don’t got an answer for that.”

Also 2022
https://neworleans.football/how-miss...can-get-better

Alvin Kamara once described his vision and feel on the field as like being in the Matrix.

As bodies are flying and he is figuring out where to go, things slow down. Vision and feel are as important for Kamara as speed, balance, and agility. One big and underrated aspect of that success are the consistency of the people blocking for Kamara.

After years of playing in the same system, he’s become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of everyone who is blocking for him. Kamara knows how Marquez Callaway will block on the outside or how Terron Armstead might approach something in space. Having that knowledge and ability to anticipate how someone might approach something allows Kamara to better position himself to succeed on a given play.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good gauge on how guys take on blocks and what their strengths and what their weaknesses are,” Kamara said. “But I think what people don’t know, they think we just come in on Sunday and just play a game. And that’s not the case.”

Kamara has spent a lot of time talking to the guys on the offensive line and discussing situations that just occurred and ones that are yet to happen. That bank of information gives the running back a good idea of how someone will approach a specific situation.

If someone on the offensive line notices something that can be exploited, all it takes is a quick conversation to adjust to something that might not be on the books or typically part of the play.

“Terron will come up in the middle of the game and be like, ‘Hey, this end is weak. I’m going to just go maul him and just run,’” Kamara said. “I’m like, ‘All right. Cool. I got you. I’m waiting for you. I’m waiting for your cue.’ So, I’m in tune to all of those things as far as running behind my blockers goes because we talk and we communicate.”

That same level of chemistry hasn’t existed much this year, but especially last week against the Panthers, with Cesar Ruiz being the only healthy starter available to play. Thanks largely to injuries to Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk and Andrus Peat, New Orleans is only averaging 3.9 yards per rushing attempt, which ranks tied for 27th in the NFL. The Saints have only been below that mark four times during the Sean Payton era (2006, 2007, 2013 and 2015).

Kamara admitted that life is a little bit harder when players are coming in and out of the lineup. Making an adjustment with someone like Armstead is quick and easy. Making one with someone new to the lineup is a bit different, or it might be a bit harder for the back and his blocker to get on the same page. One instance of that came a few weeks ago when Kamara couldn’t get around Calvin Throckmorton on a screen play against the Jets.


Most recently, the end of last season
https://neworleans.football/2023/12/...ame-derek-carr

Nick Underhill
12/15/2023 12:24:08 PM
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.

Alvin Kamara is still a productive football player who looks like one of the best players on the Saints. But the Saints, in some ways, are failing Kamara.

The running back isn’t getting the blocking he needs to be a monster on the ground, and there isn’t enough quality blocking outside to help him unleash everything he’d like to unleash in the passing game.

But there is no doubt things have changed. During Kamara’s first four seasons, he averaged 6.2 yards per touch, including a staggering 7.7 as a rookie. In the time since then, Kamara has averaged just 4.8 yards per touch.

Why such a drastic drop-off? It’s hard not to look at the offensive line, see all the struggles there and feel as though that group is letting the running back — and everyone else — down.

New Orleans must know it is failing Kamara and has been for a few years. There was a time when he looked like a lock for the Hall of Fame. Now, it’s not so clear. This team being aggressively mediocre might have cost Kamara his legacy.