As much as I hate to say it, Pierre Thomas getting injured might just have been the best thing that could have ever happened to his relationship with the Saints. The Saints stood their ground on offering Thomas a mid level deal, and he gave in because he was coming off a injury riddled season that devalued his worth on the open market. That, and the CBA uncertainty forced Thomas’ hand to ink a deal sooner than he would have liked to. ESPN chronicled Thomas’ contract, which is a 4 year $11.2 million deal.
What’s crazy about this deal that I also really like is the fact that…
the first year of the deal is the most expensive at $3.34 million, so i’s not a backloaded deal like the majority of NFL contracts. I find that’s an incredibly smart move by Mickey Loomis given the uncertainty of our economy which could easily affect salary inflation in a negative way. Thomas’ highest cap number will be in his first season of the deal. His contract looks like this:
2011: $3.34 Million ($2.7 roster bonus, plus 640k guaranteed)
2012: $2.26 Million (860k guaranteed, 100k workout bonus)
2013: $2.5 Million (2.1 salary, 300k roster bonus, 100k workout bonus)
2014: $2.9 Million (2.5 salary, 300k roster bonus, 100k workout bonus)
Thomas also has escalators that could boost his salary a bit based on performance but you get the idea. To be honest, I think Thomas is worth more and I have to give kudos to the Saints for sticking to their guns. They got themselves a great running back at an incredible price considering the market value of players like him.
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