Falcons RB Devonta Freeman: I Want To Be “Elite Paid”

Falcons RB Devonta Freeman tells Josina Anderson that he’s looking to be “elite paid” in his next contract.

“I want to be the best. I want to be elite paid. Whatever that is, that’s where I want to be–straight up,” Freeman said.

Freeman made it clear on Tuesday that he won’t hold out for a new contract and explained his reasoning to Anderson.

“Me and my team, we already said what we expected and wanted so there is no need for me to sit around here saying ‘why my contract not done?” Freeman said “‘Why is this, and why is that?’ I don’t have to do that. I don’t have those problems because realistically I am under contract already. I have to play my fourth season, so it’s no big deal.”

Freeman added that he expects a deal to get done at some point and he isn’t overly worried about it right now.

“I’m a firm believer in God. I believe everything that is going to happen will happen at the right time,” Freeman said. “Sure I can be over-concerned and be like I am a running back and my NFL lifespan is already short ..especially in a sport where anything can happen. But, I feel like when you worry about that stuff, that is when you are more likely to have an injury.”

The Falcons have said that they plan to address Freeman’s contract at some point, but there hasn’t been any reported progress up to this point.

Freeman, 25, is a former fourth-round pick of the Falcons back in 2014. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $2.7 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $1.838 million for the 2017 season before testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent next year.

In 2016, Freeman appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons and rushed for 1,079 yards on 227 carries (4.8 YPC) to go along with 54 receptions for 462 yards receiving and 13 total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 11 running back out of 62 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a new contract for Freeman as the news is available.