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The New Orleans Saints will gather for three days of mandatory minicamp practices this week, and we’re looking for six players to make their debut after they weren’t spotted in attendance at the team’s voluntary workouts earlier this spring. And the Saints should have everyone in the building. There are steep financial penalties for anyone who isn’t participating.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, missing one mandatory workout will cost a player $16,459. Skipping a second day of practice will cost $32,920. A third absence will cost them $49,374. All told, the fines amount to $98,753 for missing three days of work.
To put that in perspective, on average the players under contract with New Orleans have base salaries valued at about $830,000. Those are paid out in weekly installments throughout the 18-week regular season with an average value of $46,132.
So skipping these three mandatory practice sessions in June is worth more than two weeks of pay for the vast majority of the players on the team; only five of them are expected to receive base salary payments valued at more than $100,000 per week in the fall, including Carl Granderson ($210,000), James Hurst ($3,500,000) Bradley Roby ($166,667), Tre’Quan Smith ($150,000), and Cesar Ruiz ($129,943).
If you’re wondering why that is, it’s because the Saints have so many players on the veteran’s minimum, opting to pay out the bulk of their contracts through prorated signing bonuses instead. They can defer those costs over later years and create more immediate flexibility, even if it occasionally leads to dead money payouts when those players are no longer on the roster.
Hopefully everyone is in attendance when practice kicks off on Tuesday. Beyond protecting their wallets, the Saints need all hands on deck throughout the offseason to avoid another disappointing campaign like last year’s 7-10 finish.
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