Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a source with knowledge of the discussions, reports that the Saints have not reduced or pulled their previous offer to TE Jimmy Graham, even after they won the grievance hearing earlier this week.
According to Florio, the Saints offer would pay him $9.5 million per year and still make him the the highest-paid tight end in NFL history.
Had Graham won the ruling, he could have held out for something closer to $12 million annually, but he stands to make a little over $7 million with his franchise tender.
The Saints have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term contract with Graham and you can bet that Wednesday’s ruling will factor into contract talks. However, a report fro earlier in the week mentioned that there are “a good half dozen teams” preparing to make a run at Graham if the two sides can’t make progress in the coming weeks.
Graham managed to put together a very good season, despite the fact that he was hampered by a foot injury for a good portion of the year. He totaled 86 receptions for 1,215 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 1 tight end in the league.
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Their has been a huge shift towards wr abd secondary as kids coming uo are looking at most lucrative positions, most prestigious roster spots, thus Graham really should be happy with NO offer amd stay in Louisiana. There are teams that will probably be willing to pay him according to his wr like production numbers, but will they have a qb like brees to get him ball, will they have an O Line that protects that qb, will they be a championship contender, Sometimes players lose sight of things chasing dollars. In NO Graham is a star, he is on a contender, he gets alot of touches…if he wants additional cash flow he should hire a good agent and do commercials or find a broker and start an investment portfolio. He is really making a huge mistake because if he leaves NO probability says he will not end up on as good a team.
I’m sure he’s very disappointed with the ruling, but an offer that would make him the highest paid TE in the league at around $9.5 million isn’t an insulting offer in my opinion. Playing in the right situation is extremely important in all sports, but I would argue that it’s even more so in the NFL given that football careers can end at any moment.
If I was in Graham’s position, I would consider signing deal that paid out at around $10M per year, but allowed me to become a free agent again after two years. I would try to include a clause that prevented the Saints from franchising me too, but that could be wishful thinking.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, my view is that their are very few if any situations as good or better for Graham than the one he is in, if I was his agent after all the hardline posturing I would take a min 5 yr contract with as much guaranteed money as possible and be prepared to end my career in NO…and if his agent gets his future prepared with radio, tv, interviews and color commentary as well as endorsement packages local or national I hardly see him being at a soup kitchen after his contract expires. Sometimes you actually end up further ahead financially by not focusing so much on chasing dollars and instead let the opportunities arrive in time…just be prepared to handle them in a professional manner and the cash will take care of itself….there are plenty of worse situations with pie in the sky numbers that will NOT be guaranteed payments. Graham should just sign the deal(its a generous one) and be happy at 9.5 million he makes more than champ bailey ever did….and if we go outside of this generations hof the further we go back the more generous Grahams contract looks.
Signing a five-year contract would leave Graham as a 32-year-old free agent at the end of that contract. There is always an argument to be made that a player should look to maximize the amount of guarantees as soon as possible.
However, assuming Graham can produce two productive seasons without suffering a major injury, he could cash in again before the time he was 30. This would maximize his situation while ensuring he’s be paid as the best tight end in the league for a number of years.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the Saints would sign this contract seeing as they do have some leverage in contract talks now that his franchise tag would only run the $7M or so next season. They could even franchise him again in 2015 at a lower rate than the $9.5M they are reportedly offering him.
Interesting situation all around.
Same error as Graham & his agent are engaged in (orr not)…Graham is in close to best if not best situation he could be in…he has proven his value to the team…get a long term contract which maximixes guaranteed payment and let the future take care of itself…plans are plans…he has earned a long term contract that guarantees him a lot of money…his situation pprovides him with the opportunnity to continue demonstrating his value to this sucessful prohrams continued sucess. I really think he should get everything he can now…longest term & most guaranteed pay possible and then focus on being best player he can be.