Saints’ Thomas out to earn every penny in big contract
Saints receiver Michael Thomas took extra time after his first practice of training camp to catch footballs fired from a machine at close range, first while facing the machine, then while twisting his torso to the left and right as if he were in the midst of a crossing route.
Wearing bright white gloves, his hands enveloped each ball; he didn’t drop one.
“Now you’re the highest-paid, and now you’ve got to go earn it,” Thomas said Thursday, a day after signing a five year, $100 million extension that includes at least $61 million in guaranteed salary and bonuses. “So that’s the biggest thing I’m trying to do. I’m trying to earn every penny of it.”
The $20 million annual value of Thomas’ extension, which kicks in next season, gives him bragging rights over the most lucrative contract — on a per-season basis — for a receiver in NFL history. There are several other elite receivers around the league — including Atlanta’s Julio Jones — whose impending next contracts could eclipse the value of the one Thomas just signed. But that doesn’t change the fact that Thomas can take solace in having a contract that reflects his ample production and value to the Saints’ passing game.
Thomas said he was training in Southern California during his holdout, which cost him five practices.
Last season, Thomas ranked first in the NFL in catches with 125, sixth in yards receiving with 1,405 and tied for 10th with nine touchdowns. He has surpasses 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons, and few of his teammates seemed bothered by the fact that he missed less than a full week of training camp.
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