Saints' Brees: seeking average of $20.5 million a year; may skip camp

[Auggie]

espn.com / July 11, 2012

If Drew Brees does not have a long-term contract in place by Monday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, the New Orleans Saints quarterback has no plans to sign his franchise tender and report to training camp, according to league and team sources.

Brees and the Saints must work out a long-term contract by July 16 or he will be required to play the 2012 season under his $16.371 million exclusive-rights franchise tender that restricts the free agent from signing with another team.

However, sources say Brees has made it clear to confidants that he will not sign the tender and report to Saints training camp when it begins July 24. The sources also said that even though Brees is on record as saying he won't miss the regular season, he may leave the Saints guessing as to whether he will report in time for the team's opener against the Washington Redskins on Sept. 9.

Under the league's current collective bargaining agreement, Brees would have until the Tuesday after the 10th regular-season game to sign his tender or he would be prohibited from playing the remainder of the season. If Brees misses any games, his 2012 salary would be a prorated amount of the $16.371 million based on the number of games remaining once he signs his tender.

MORE: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8153671/drew-brees-new-orleans-saints-skip-training-camp-contract-sources-say

According to the article, the Saints have offered Brees a contract that would average $19.25 million per year. So Brees is holding out for $1.25m more?

[RockaFowler]

1. I saw your last sentence on ESPN last night

If that's true - what is Brees thinking?? I know it's not $20 Million, but it's extremely close. It's more like he's holding out for $750,000.

[fishwax]

2. a million this season, a million the next -- pretty soon you're talking real money

[joeybee12]

3. Brees thinks he should be in the Payless Manning range...

Which he should...I think the Saints are being assholes...they're denying him that little more because they're pissed at his role in the contract negotiations.

[bluedigger]

4. Why is this all Brees' doing?

Aren't there two sides in the negotiations? Why don't the Saints agree? Brees has all the leverage. The Saints are nothing without him, especially this season.

[Auggie]

5. Is it worth holding out for 6 1/2%? We're talking 19.5 million ...

over just three years, that's nearly $60 million on top of the $60 million the Saints have already paid him.

How much does does Brees need? How much does anybody need? $120 million and he wants more?

That's disgusting.

[bluedigger]

6. Apparently the Saints think so.

If Tom Benson thinks it won't cost him a lot more than $1.5 million in lost revenues to make this deal then he is sadly mistaken. How much money is enough for Tom Benson? Tom Benson is disgusting. I support labor.

[RockaFowler]

7. This looks worse for Brees than the Saints

Look people are hurting right now in New Orleans. Why is he quibbling over that small amount?? I know NFL players have a short shelf life, but come on $120 Million isn't enough to live on for the next few years and beyond??

[Auggie]

8. Exactly!

You get to a certain point monetarily at which a quibble of this sorts becomes quite odious.

And you know, that 1.25 million could easily be funneled into other places on the roster that just might help Brees improve his level of play.

[joeybee12]

9. I think it's more the way they treated him during the negotiations...

than the money.

[JonLP24]

10. The 19.5 million

is roughly the same amount Brees would be paid if he plays back-to-back franchise tag years beginning with this year.

I think the point of contention is a long-term deal and 1.25 million/year is a big difference when you add it up.

I don't care who wins out of Saints/Brees but what someone needs is irrelevant. $60,000 is more than I need. Saints generate a lot of revenue, Brees thinks the portion he is asking for is fair. Saints may think otherwise. Holding out is just a negotiating tactic, one of the 2 sides will cave to other before long.

[Auggie]

11. At say, 6 years, that amounts to an extra $7.5 million ...

on top of the $120 million the team would already have paid him.

[JonLP24]

12. Well

an extra $7.5 million strikes me as a hell of a lot of money.

I don't care who wins this negotiation but no one side strikes me as more disgusting than the other.

The Saints generating over $200 million yearly in revenue for 3 years. The value of the team has gone up greatly since the addition of Brees so you could say the owner is being petty for refusing to surrender an extra 1 million per year.