Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the Saints and star receiver Michael Thomas reached a five-year, $100 million contract extension, per a source informed of the deal. The deal includes $61 million in guarantees, added Rapoport.

Michael Thomas agrees to 5-yr, $100M extension - NFL.com

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Early reports are $61mil guaranteed...

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I might get flamed but I hate paying this kind of money to a WR especially with our HOF QB at the end of his career. We are a SB contender now though and we were not going to risk this going into the reg season.

Let's hope Kamara doesn't hold out next year which I can see happening now that it worked for Mike.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Big scary number. This is today's NFL.

Congrats to Mike. We can debate whether he's "worth" it or not, but he's surely earned it. He's a beast.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I feel you on that money they gave him but the man outplayed his contract and kamara has too they aren't contract year wonders. If you wanna dance you gotta pay the band.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

We got off cheap.
It's a good day.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

The best chance at getting Brees more championships is to lock up these great players and that takes money. But, don't forget, the cap keeps increasing at a minimum of $10M per year and will pay for all of these new contracts. Another member here, SFIAH, has graphically shown that the $20M per year that Thomas' contract implies is a smaller percentage of total cap than WR deal being made any many years past. Kamara has the same agent as Thomas and if it comes down to it will probably be told to hold out until a extension deal is made, as well. I have no issue with that whatsoever.

This is a good day in Saints history!

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

It's good that it didn't linger. I'd rather pay him than OBJ or Brown. Only choice for today.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Oh you can say bye to Kamara. Payton has nooooo problem cutting RBs as it is.
A plus is the Draft cap. We don’t have to pay out of the nose anymore to sign first round picks. At least teams can think ahead 4 years now. Imagine the pickle we would be in picking a QB next year if rookie contracts were still as high as they used to be.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I'll repost part of my argument I posted on Monday:
Note that my numbers were right in line with the real contract and that those numbers are just as true as my hypothethical ones. It isn't a 5 year contract. It isn't $100 million. It isn't $20 million a year. The only eye popping number is the $61 million. That's CGM's money. And that's the money most easily managed, as it can be restructured or extended at any point likely after the first two years of the contract. If CGM falls off after Brees' eventual exit, the last $40 million and the last 2 years of the contract will never be seen. If CGM continues to beast after 2022, he'll get new guaranteed money because by that time his contract dollars will look like chump change in the NFL market with a $200+ million salary cap at that time.


Kamara is up next. Likely the same will happen and for exactly the same reasons: a superior elite player outplayed his contract.

I'll hopefully close up shop on this for this year reiterating some observations about the business of the NFL:

1. Holding out isn't a protest. It's a safety issue. Everyone talks about holdouts blowing up team chemistry, or blowing up the cap. Look at AJ Green this year. Getting injured in practice for a player in contract negotiations literally blows up that player's life and their financial stability, especially if it's their first big contract. It's best for all involved for the player to stay out until the contract is signed.

2. Track the salary cap. Use percentages of the salary cap to decide if someone is being overpaid. Raw dollars are meaningless numbers.

3. The only number that matters is the guaranteed money in a contract. All the rest of it is fluff. Look at how much the guaranteed money is and over what timeframe is it delivered. The year that the salary outstrips the cap hit is the last real year of any NFL contract. And it's a minimum of two years out from the actual end of the contract.

4. Elite players outplay their salaries. Those salaries need adjustment. The money spent by the team is in exchange for retaining the services of elite players by keeping control and not letting that talent get to free agency. Just remember that there are less than 5 people on the planet that can do what CGM, Kamara, Ram, and other elite Saints players can do at their respective positions.

5. While it's about fandom for you, for everyone in the business, it's about business. Let the players, and Loomis, and Payton, and Benson take care of the business of the NFL without you as a fan getting caught up in the emotion of how getting business done impacts the team, which it didn't, or how you'd spend other people money, which is not yours to spend.

6. See you next year with AK. And the year after with Ram, though I think the Saints will likely stick a franchise tag on him.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Posters .. please READ what SFIAH is stating above ^^ .

FACTS.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

It's wasn't cheap. It was market. But it's a fast moving market. This contract is just as eye popping as Julio Jones last contract. Or OBJ's contract from last year. Each of the three does/will look small 3 years in. That's why Jones is griping about being restructured now. His extension will top CGM's likely in average salary and the guaranteed dollars per year. Something like a 3 year extension with $40 million in new guaranteed money.

Then CGM will look like a bargain. Watch for it this week.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Ditto!

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Hopefully he doesn’t show up to camp in a hot air balloon

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I'm just kind of curious as to what would give you that impression :rolleyes:?

Michael has never been a DIVA. EVER. He's just a stone cold killer on the field... like his teammates Brees, Cam and Kamara.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Well, he has a little DIVA. Let's not forget the flip phone incident...

But nothing that rises to the level of AB with the balloon or Jalen Ramsey with the money truck and the hype man. I just hope the team is ready for CGM's intensity in camp.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Anther observation. CGM's contract is almost an exact mirror of Brees' record breaking (at the time) 2012 contract. Same years, same total, same guarantees. Now Brees gets paid in the upper $20 million range and we all marvel on how cheap a bargain he is when NFL QB salaries topping out near $35 million.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

What SFIAH said. He hasn’t been near as bad as Brown, Moss or Owens but he is a little Divaish. Hopefully it doesn’t get that bad and I doubt it will especially under Payton.

He’s also the biggest smack talker in the NFL. I kind of like that.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Semantics.
The WR price tag is about to explode, and I agree that in 3 years (or less) this contract won't be top 5. So in my eyes, it's cheap.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

In 3 years? Probably by the end of the season.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Much much better skirting the cap limit than have conexes full of cash and nothing to spend it on. God, I use to hate those days. Nobody wanted to play here. If they are worth it (which he is) pay him. Figuring out the spinning plate order is an easier situation.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Maybe by the end of the week!

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I'm just going to say it - last year there were several times he reminded me of Jerry Rice. If my eyes are not deceiving me and his production continues to prosper as GOAT Jerry's did, this is definitely money well spent.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Oh yea, Julio has been waiting for this.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

That’s what I’m talking about!! Couldn’t be any happier!

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

So we just f'ed with the Falcon's cap space? double-win

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

He is better than Rice in catch percentage. Nobody is even close in that dept. He's 85% money in the bank every throw which is insane.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Awesome news. It's a fair deal with his production and cheap rookie contract. Make him a Saint for life.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

I love him. I really do. But this is going to wreck this franchise for several years to come with the cap! $61 mil guaranteed is going to make free agency a nightmare in the next couple of years. I can't see how they're going to pay Kamara at this rate.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Refer to post #11.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

By that time the cap will be higher, Jordan and Thomas will have restructured, and who knows who the quarterback will be, and what he'll be earning??

The alternative was going into the season with Tedd Ginn as your #1. Easy call

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

If 100 passes are thrown at him in any situation...man, double coverage he will haul in 85. Nobody has ever done that in the NFL. NOBODY. Not even close.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

They are gonna have some big pay days coming up in the next couple years.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Falcons now have an "aging star". Do they dump money on him or dump him?

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

Oh, you know they are hating us. They are in a bad situation because Julio is not Jerry Rice or Fitzgerald. He is a fine tuned Maserati. Not built to play into his 30's like they are. They are going to have to start dialing him back where MT is still a young buck.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

If Cook is as good as advertised and Butler continues to impress and stays healthy this offense could be scaaaary.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to 5 year 100 million extension
 

They are going to be tough this year. They have arguably the best receiving corps in the league. If they are going to make a run this is the year for them to do it. They can’t pay all of them and keep the defense. I hope they do break the bank on Julio. It will screw them long term.