Let’s just get this on the record. The New Orleans Saints didn’t just save a lot of salary cap space in restructuring their contract with Michael Thomas — they ensured maybe the best player on their team won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Thomas has been maligned by fans for his decision to put off surgery last summer and his beef with the team, but that’s all in rearview now. The way New Orleans’ contract with Thomas is set up now makes him a cornerstone of the franchise.
Here’s a quick look at the numbers — because the Saints added some void years to Thomas’ contract to spread out his new signing bonus, releasing him before June 1, 2022 would cost them an addition $24.2 million. That’s not happening. Trading or cutting Thomas after that date only brings back his base salary (the veteran’s minimum at just over $1.03 million) and a $200,000 workout bonus. It just isn’t worth it.
You’ve got to look far to see when the Saints could part ways with Thomas and break even. Releasing him after the 2022 season ends but prior to June 1, 2023 would only save them $2.8 million; New Orleans would be paying Thomas a staggering $25.4 million not to play for them. Waiting to offload him until after that date does return more than $16.4 million in cap savings, but it would be surprising to see things get to that stage. He’d have to fall well short of expectations for that to be an option.
And the Saints are betting on a big bounce back for No. 13. They’ve written incentives into his contract for 2023 and 2024 that will pay him $375,000 for meeting each of these performance goals:
- Scoring 12 touchdowns
- Surpassing 1,400 receiving yards
- Surpassing 1,400 receiving yards and clinching a playoff berth
- Catching 100-plus receptions
- Catching 100-plus receptions and clinching a playoff berth
So the Saints are expecting Thomas to return to form and reassert himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. And that would be tremendous if it happens. He’s the ultimate safety net for whichever quarterback starts for New Orleans in 2022, offering the closest thing you’ll find in football to an automatic first down conversion. If he’s motivated to get to work and do his best to help the team, and by all appearances he is, watch out. The Saints have kind of written themselves into a corner if he doesn’t.
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