Chase Young’s unique contract structure makes Saints deal look better than expected

Chase Young’s unique contract structure makes his deal with the Saints look better than expected. See for yourself:

Now this is interesting. It’s been a whirlwind of a week for Chase Young and the New Orleans Saints — fans following this saga were surprised to see him sign a fully-guaranteed $13 million contract on Monday, which turned out to be for just one year, before it was reported that Young will be undergoing neck surgery. That procedure is going to sideline him into training camp.

And now there’s another twist as the full picture becomes clear. The Saints knew about Young’s medicals before they agreed to this contract, and it’s structured in such a unique way that they’re protected in case he misses time recovering.

CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones first reported that the Saints signed Young to a deal that includes $7.99 million in per-game roster bonuses, which he will only receive if he’s active each week during the 2024 season. So Young risks losing $470,000 for every game he’s unavailable, giving him a strong incentive to attack his rehab and get back on the field as soon as possible.

Additionally, Jones reports that Young’s base salary is just $2.7 million. He also received a $1.86 million signing bonus and a $450,000 workout bonus. That means Young’s contract is effectively a $5.01 million deal with another $7.99 million he can earn through being active in every game. Any games he misses will result in a salary cap credit going back to the Saints in 2025. If things take a bad turn and Young never plays a down for New Orleans, the team will get the full $7.99 million back next season.

Obviously they hope that won’t come to pass. Everyone involved is eager for Young to get healthy and play a productive 17 games in the fall (and then some; it’s playoffs or bust for underperforming head coach Dennis Allen). To that end, betting on his upside is worthwhile.

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Derek Carr’s Saints contract includes $100 million in total guarantees

Derek Carr’s Saints contract includes $100 million in guarantees and averages $37.5 million per year, but creative structure could get his salary cap hit under $7 million in 2023:

We’re waiting on all of the details and salary cap hits, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared some much-needed specifics on the New Orleans Saints’ contract with free agent quarterback Derek Carr. Carr agreed to sign with the Saints in exchange for a four-year deal valued at $150 million, which averages a payout of $37.5 million per year.

More importantly than that, though, are the contract guarantees and structure. Carr will receive $100 million in total guarantees between guaranteed salary, signing bonus, and future roster bonuses (which can be restructured to open up more salary cap resources). Rapoport adds that $70 million is fully guaranteed once Carr puts pen to paper with another $10 million guaranteed in 2025, the third year of this deal.

Additionally, and this is what fans actually need to concern themselves with: both Rapoport and NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett and Nick Underhill report that the first-year salary cap hit will be substantially lower. We’re guessing here, but Carr will probably get a minimum base salary of $1.165 million for 2023 plus a signing bonus of about $30 million. Spread that out over five years with an automatically-voiding year written in for 2027 (keeping this at a four-year deal) and you’ve got a current-year salary cap hit of just $7.165 million for Carr’s services. But we’re speculating on that, so stay tuned for official word on what he’ll be costing the Saints this season.

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What a Saints free agent contract with Derek Carr could look like

Derek Carr will soon become a free agent. Here’s what a contract with the Saints may look like, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Now that Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has vetoed a trade to the New Orleans Saints and any other NFL team, if the Saints want him, they’ll have to land him as a free agent. Carr is expected to be released before the Feb. 15 deadline that activates more than $40 million in guarantees over the next two years. The nine-year veteran visited New Orleans, has been introduced to key members of the organization and visited the team’s facilities last week before making his decision. Perhaps Carr liked what the Saints had to offer, but was not interested in the Raiders getting a return for his departure. If that’s the case and Carr finds his way to the Big Easy as their next starting quarterback, what might his free agent contract look like?

There are a couple of paths that the Saints and Carr could take depending on the market he finds. Make no mistake, Carr and his representation will take time to visit with other teams no matter how much they liked New Orleans. Teams like the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers are among many NFL clubs in search of a starting quarterback for 2023. It’s in the best interest of Carr and his team to rustle up multiple offers. If the Saints end up having to compete with other teams, his contract could look very similar to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins signed a one-year $35 million contract with Minnesota last season. That may end up being the average per year that Carr’s club will look to capture. If so, the Saints would be wise to engage in a multi-year deal to spread out some of the guarantees (much like Los Angeles Rams passer Matthew Stafford’s deal) and use their typical void year structure in the meanwhile. Here’s what that contract could look like:

We’re projecting terms on a 3-year, $105 million deal (average per year: $35 million) with a $50 million signing bonus and $60 million guaranteed in total.

2023: $1.165 million base salary, $10 million signing bonus prorate ($11.165 million cap hit)
2024: $11.9 million base salary, $10 million roster bonus, $10 million signing bonus prorate ($21.9 million cap hit)
2025: $31.9 million base salary, $10 million signing bonus prorate ($41.9 million cap hit)
2026 (void): $10 million signing bonus prorate ($10 million cap hit)
2027 (void): $10 million signing bonus prorate ($10 million cap hit)

This would allow the Saints to keep the cap hit in 2023 manageable, plan ahead to restructure the roster bonus in 2024 and backload the deal. That way if things work out, the Saints could extend him to drop that massive 2025 hit into future years which they would add to his contract anyway.

Alternatively, though unlikely, Carr could find that he does not have the market he’d hoped in free agency in which case the Saints could sign him to a Jameis Winston-like deal: a 2-year agreement worth $35 million with $28 million guaranteed. They could leverage a large signing bonus just like a multi-year structure would, but build it so that the team and Carr could split after the first year with minimal damage.

One way or another, if the Saints want to land Carr as their next starting quarterback they have the resources and savvy to get it done. But the biggest questions will be whether or not Carr actually wants to be in New Orleans and what his services will drum up elsewhere. A lot of teams could get desperate at this position, but the Saints should remain level-headed and stick to their prices as they often do.

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Going under the hood on Saints-Alvin Kamara contract details

The New Orleans Saints structured several triggers for making new salary cap space in their contract extension with Pro Bowl RB Alvin Kamara

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The $75 million contract extension that Alvin Kamara signed with the New Orleans Saints looks a little more different the longer you examine it. On paper, it’s a five-year deal tying Kamara to the Saints through 2025. But in reality, it’s functioning as a four-year contract that will require attention before 2025.

ESPN’s Field Yates reported that Kamara’s deal includes a $15 million signing bonus prorated over the life of the extension. He is also owed roster bonuses guaranteed for injury in 2022 (worth $6 million) and in 2023 ($4 million), with non-guaranteed roster bonuses in 2024 ($1 million) and 2025 ($2 million). Those roster bonuses could be converted to new signing bonuses to create more salary cap space, if need be. From 2023 to 2025, Kamara has $500,000 per-game bonuses and $100,000 workout bonuses.

Yates added Kamara’s annual base salaries to his report:

2020: $833,000
2021: $2 million
2022: $5.5 million
2023: $9.4 million
2024: $10.2 million
2025: $22.4 million

And that’s where things get tricky. Here are how his annual salary cap hits shook out, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. These are the numbers that really matter:

2020: $4.07 million
2021: $5 million
2022: $14.5 million
2023: $14 million
2024: $14.8 million
2025: $25 million

2022 is the first year Kamara will be accounting for a huge chunk of salary cap resources, but the Saints won’t be in position to save any cap space by cutting his contract until 2023. Hopefully he remains healthy and productive and won’t come up in cap casualty talks. But if anything goes off-script, that’s the soonest the Saints can get out of this deal.

And even if everything goes as planned — if Kamara becomes an annual All-Pro and never misses a game, developing a Hall of Fame resume — there’s no way the Saints will leave his contract untouched by 2025. He won’t account for $25 million against the salary cap (14.2% of the projected 2021 salary cap) because the Saints will have reworked his contract before then to create more cap space. If anything, it just moves up their deadline to rework his deal.

However, the more realistic result would be Kamara getting in on the semi-annual Saints contract restructures Michael Thomas, Terron Armstead, and Cameron Jordan have worked out with the Saints. His contract can be reworked and kicked down the road here and there to keep it affordable as the salary cap rebounds from the dip expected in 2021.

So for now, it’s a situation worth celebrating. Kamara and his family have financial stability for years to come, while the Saints have one of their best players under contract and another avenue of finding more salary cap flexibility. It’s the closest thing you’ll find in the NFL to a win-win scenario.

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Saints promote Terry Fontenot to VP/assistant general manager

The New Orleans Saints promoted longtime director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot to assistant general manager, just like Jeff Ireland.

The start of NFL training camps are often a time for new hirings and in-house promotions to scouting departments around the league, and for once, 2020 is going no differently. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the New Orleans Saints promoted longtime director of pro scouting to the role of vice president/assistant general manger of pro personnel. He’s one of about a dozen of executives around the league to carry that assistant G.M. title.

Fontenot has been with the Saints for 16 years, overseeing the pro scouting department for the last six seasons after seven years as a pro scout. It’s been his responsibility to monitor the waiver wire, evaluate upcoming opponents, and gauge free agents to-be, helping the Saints land big-time veterans like All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis, guard Larry Warford (who went to three Pro Bowls in three years with the Saints), tight end Jared Cook (who set personal bests in several stats last season), and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who will hopefully keep things trending upwards.

Intriguingly, this puts Fontenot on the same level as Jeff Ireland within the Saints organization. Ireland, the infamous ex-Miami Dolphins general manager, has held the title of vice president/assistant G.M. for some time now. But he’s now added “assistant general manager of college scouting” to better reflect his duties as head of that department. Both Ireland and Fontenot report to Mickey Loomis, who is titled executive vice president/general manager.

It’ll be interesting to see where things go form here. Ireland has steadily climbed the ladder within the Saints organization since joining them back in 2015, helping assemble some of the strongest draft classes in team history. Both he and Fontenot could be candidates for general manager jobs in the NFL’s next hiring cycle, much like former Saints director of player personnel Ryan Pace (now the embattled Chicago Bears shot-caller). This promotion for Fontenot likely carries a pay raise and more decision-making influence within the front office, but only time will tell if it’s enough to keep a good group together.

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Andrus Peat contract structure might give Saints an early way out

The New Orleans Saints signed Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat to a five-year contract extension, but the deal’s structure may cut it short.

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The New Orleans Saints lit up the fan base early in free agency with a controversial five-year, $57.5 million contract extension with left guard Andrus Peat. While Peat has twice made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, high-variance performance and a still-growing injury history gave many fans cause about committing so many resources to someone who was viewed as replaceable.

For the detractors: there’s reason to think the Saints may share some of their concerns, based off the structure in Peat’s contract. Of that $57.5 million total, just $33.85 million of it is guaranteed, including a $13 million signing bonus prorated over the length of the deal. But what’s interesting is a trigger written into it in 2021.

Peat’s base salary for 2022 ($10.85 million) will become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year, giving the Saints a three-day window in which to make a decision. If Peat has not played up to expectations in 2020, they will have an opportunity to get out of his contract through a possible trade (freeing up just $1.2 million in cap space) or post-June 1 cut (saving nothing in 2021, but creating plenty of spending room down the road by prorating).

However, it’s more likely that the Saints will ride out the first three years of Peat’s contract. The savings don’t really make getting rid of him worth it until 2022 at the soonest, especially when those savings are counted against the dead money his contract would leave behind (meaning checks the Saints must write to a player not on their roster). This graph illustrates why it may take some time for the savings of life without Peat may be worth the trouble:

In other words: the view won’t be worth the climb until 2022 at the earliest, and likely not until 2023 (when cutting him would free up $9.225 million against the cap while leaving just $5.2 million behind in dead money). So Peat can safely be penciled in as the starting left guard in New Orleans for the next three seasons. That’s not ideal for those who didn’t want to see Peat connected long-term with the Saints, but a three-year contract is better than a five-season deal.

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3 ways the new Saints-Drew Brees contract is better for the team than the player

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints agreed on a two-year contract extension, which came in ahead of schedule and below market value.

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The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms with quarterback Drew Brees on a two-year contract extension valued at nearly $50 million, keeping the best player in team history around until he’s ready to retire on his own terms.

On its surface, a team paying out $50 million to anyone doesn’t really scream “team friendly,” but in this case it’s an apt descriptor. Here are four ways the new deal between Brees and the Saints benefits New Orleans:

1. It’s far below the market value

Brees will earn roughly $25 million per year on this contract, which is the same amount he signed up for back in 2017. That may not sound like much, but consider how the market for quarterbacks has developed since then. Middling talents like Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tannehill are commanding $29.5 million or more annually, and Brees is certainly better than them.

He had an argument to make for even $27 million per year — adjusting his percentage of the salary cap for inflation since 2017 — but instead settled for less. This will go a long way towards helping the Saints retain their own free agents and find upgrades in the open market.

2. A two-year deal doesn’t limit the Saints

This would be different if Brees had demanded a long-term deal running four or five years from now. Instead, he accepted a shorter-term contract that will just count for the next two seasons, allowing the Saints an easier transition to a new starter when the time is right. And if Brees suddenly falls off a cliff in his productivity, well, the Saints won’t be paying out dead money for years to come after he’s retired.

It’s also worth noting that the Saints like to use automatically voided years in their contract extensions to help with salary cap accounting. While these deals do result in a larger, accelerated cap hit once the contract expires, so long as they’re active it helps teams create more space beneath the salary cap when they need it most.

3. It clocked in ahead of schedule

The Saints were able to negotiate this new deal before the eleventh hour, avoiding Wednesday’s deadline of 3 p.m. CT — when Brees would have been due more than $21 million in dead money, with no ways of kicking that can down the road.

While the new contract extension will carry more guarantees and raise the total salary cap damage in the long term, this is something the Saints knew was coming and planned for. Getting it done before it’s too late gives them time to address other issues right now.

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