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Alvin Kamara on not holding out from Saints training camp amid contract talks: 'I ain't stupid'

Published: Jul 24, 2024 at 03:02 PM

Kevin Patra

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara left June's mandatory minicamp early while in a contract dispute but reported for training camp this week.

On Wednesday, Kamara did his best Marshawn Lynch impression, admitting he arrived to avoid getting fined $50,000 per day.

"I ain't stupid. I ain't gonna give the money up," Kamara said. "I'm trying to get some money, right? I was gonna be here. It's no one that has a jersey on, I wouldn't even blame any coaches [with] what's going on with contract issues right now. This happens all across the league. It's happened here. It's happened everywhere. People trying to get contracts, trying to get paid. I'll be a fool to spite my teammates because of a dispute I'm having with upstairs. I wouldn't even call it a dispute. We're just having conversations about compensation. … I'm not that guy. I'm for the team. So I'm here, I'm doing what I've got to do. I'm working."

Karmara admitted his early departure from minicamp last month came after he got no traction on his contract concerns.

"Trying to get a contract done, and it just ain't been nothing happening," he said. "Ain't been no real conversations or, I would say, worthy conversations of contract. So that last day was just me saying… I think there was a misconception about 'Oh well, Alvin didn't say anything about a contract,' which I never do really. It's just you know it's time. We've been talking about it a little bit. It hasn't been anything really meaningful. It's been kinda one side where they at, and I'm kinda like, 'Eh, nah.' So I went to the crib."

Turning 29 on Thursday, Kamara is set to earn $10.2 million in base salary this season, with just $1 million guaranteed. His 2025 base salary of $22.4 million with no guaranteed dollars is an inflated figure he's unlikely ever to see.

Kamara reiterated that his goal is to play his entire career in New Orleans.

"I've said it before: I want to be a Saint," he added. "You know what I'm saying? I want to retire here. If I gotta play football somewhere else, I'll probably be somewhere with my feet kicked up in Africa somewhere, or something like that."

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill