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Christian McCaffrey got paid while we were Twitch streaming with @A_kamara6 & @LilCoachTMBTC.
Check out Alvin’s reaction to the record RB deal, and what it would mean for him to get an extension with the Saints pic.twitter.com/yMy46HZPot
— Master (@MasterTes) April 14, 2020
The NFL world was rocked on Monday by the news of a huge four-year, $64 million contract extension between running back Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers. Beyond the deal’s immediate impact on the Panthers as a franchise, it shook up the landscape of running back contracts around the league.
For New Orleans Saints fans tuned into Alvin Kamara’s Twitch stream with Bleacher Report, they earned a live reaction from one of the game’s most popular players — whose own contract is set to expire after the 2020 season. Kamara was thoughtful when asked how he’d feel about signing his own multiyear extension with the Saints.
“Man, that’s,” Kamara started, pausing to gather his thoughts. “New Orleans was a place I hadn’t been to. I’d never been to New Orleans until I got drafted to New Orleans. Just to be able to get to New Orleans, and have that city embrace me, just take me in, basically adopt me, man it’s amazing. There’s so much love there. It’s a dope city even outside of the football. It’s beautiful people, it’s lit, it’s a vibe.”
Kamara has spoken often about his appreciation for the city’s culture and the support of its fanbase; he often walks to and from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on game days from his downtown apartment, pausing for photographs along the way. But the sense of brotherhood he’s felt in the Saints locker room is just as important.
“If we’re talking about the football,” Kamara said, “I’ve never been around a group of guys like in New Orleans who just want to win, who just want to be there for each other, and be around each other.”
The Saints are headed for uncharted territory, with franchise quarterback Drew Brees drawing up his retirement plans and a host of big-money contract extensions on the horizon. Kamara is one of several young stars whose cheap rookie deals will run out soon, along with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and free safety Marcus Williams. That’s not to mention decorated veterans like linebacker Demario Davis and tight end Jared Cook.
Even if the Saints are able to transition from Brees to a younger, low-cost quarterback (whether it’s Taysom Hill or someone else) it’s not realistic to expect the Saints to keep everyone. Recent losses including safety Vonn Bell and running back Mark Ingram speak to that. Everyone is rightfully going to want their money, and the Saints won’t be able to compromise with all of them. Hopefully they can hammer out an agreement with Kamara before it’s too late; it’s obvious his heart is in it.
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