Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

EDIT
SORRY... DIDNT SEE PREVIOUS POST ABOUT THIS TOPIC


When the New Orleans Saints kicked off training camp Thursday in*Metairie, Louisiana, the league's most prolific pass-catcher was not present.*
All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas has reportedly been negotiating a new contract with the team for weeks. General manager*Mickey Loomis*said in mid-June*that the two parties have "had some conversations," ESPN's*Dianna Russini*reported soon thereafter that the team is "comfortable making Thomas the highest paid receiver in the game," and*Yahoo's*Charles Robinson*reported earlier this week that the 26-year-old wants to be the first $20-million-per-year wideout.*
And that isn't wild.*
Pro Football Reference has reception rate statistics dating back to 1992, and Thomas' 2018 reception rate of 85.0 percent is the*highest among receivers*with 100 or more catches in that 27-year stretch, with no other player within eight points of that mark.*And that's no fluke. He's also the*only player in league history*with 300-plus-catches in his first three seasons.
He's going to get his cash, but with so much money on the line it's easy to see why this is lingering. The question now is how long he'll stay away. The Saints owe*Drew Brees*$21.3 million in 2020 dead-cap money regardless of whether he's on the roster, so they probably aren't excited about making a potential nine-figure commitment to anybody right now.*


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XLIV CHAMPS

Re: Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

Re: Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

This is the new NFL. Holdouts.

Re: Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

Isn't he getting fined daily. He's handing money back to the Saints because he wants more money. Ok.

Re: Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

It won't matter in the end. The Saints will waive the fines once the deal is done. Even if the team wanted to be a Richard about it, they'd be docking it from a likely $30-40 million signing bonus. Literally change from out of the couch.

It's hard to explain NFL contracts to average people. In some ways it's incomprehensible. There's both more money than god involved and involves people with skillsets that literally less than 10 people on the planet can do on an elite level. The money represents both security for the player and his family and respect for the skills that put them in that position. And risking coming to camp without that security is frankly foolish.

Here's OBJ's contract from last year:

Contract Terms: 5 yr(s) / $90,000,000
Signing Bonus $20,000,000
Average Salary$18,000,000
GTD at Sign:$40,959,000
Total GTD:$65,000,000

Now CGM is scheduled to earn $1.1 million this year. It's likely that his contract is going to exceed each and every number listed here for OBJ's contract. It's literally a lottery ticket. Now would you come into camp with the possibility of being injured, and therefore tearing up that lottery ticket, if you were in the same situation?

As I said in my other post, the NFL is the players' business, their job. They need to take care of getting what they deserve before dealing with training camp, or preseason games. CGM is a vet. He was in OTA's and mini-camp. Missing a few days of camp is truly meaningless.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas Doesnt Report to Camp
 

Knowing what we know about Thomas, his not being able to be there at the opening of camp is probably eating him up. But these players, especially the young ones, have to listen to their agents when it comes to negotiations as the next contract may be their last. SFIAH is right. Reporting to camp without a new deal in place could be a $100 million gamble and his agent knows that.