Saints, Brees far apart on guarantee

Saints, Brees far apart on guarantee


July 12, 2012 12:47 am

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The Associated Press
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still must close a significant gap in guaranteed money if they are to agree on a five-year contract worth about $100 million by Monday's looming deadline for a long-term deal.

The sides were reportedly more than $10 million apart in the guaranteed portion of the contract.

The stakes are high for both sides and the negotiations have lasted for months. Brees, who is 33 and entering his 12th season, has never before had the chance to negotiate a contract on par with the elite quarterbacks of the game.

The Saints, meanwhile, risk alienating the best quarterback in franchise history, not to mention their fan base, by failing to make an offer to his satisfaction by Monday -- the deadline for players with the franchise tag to sign long-term deals.

Brees has said he does not want to play under a one-year contract with no long-term security in the coming seasons. He did it once before, with costly consequences, when he played under the franchise tag for San Diego in 2005 and wound up with a career-threatening injury to his throwing shoulder.

That injury led him to accept a six-year, $60 million deal with New Orleans in 2006, which left him playing for well below market value in the past few seasons, even as he was setting club and league records.

Brees had hoped that an extension would be done before 2011, but when it was not, he decided not to hold out and played without the security of a long-term contract. He remained healthy the entire season and passed for an NFL single-season record 5,476 yards.

Brees considered that an act of faith in the Saints, and now he is insistent that that faith be returned in the form of a contract that not only gives him the highest average annual salary in the game, but also guarantee a significant portion of his salary.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis said he understands that Brees' contract is the most important deal on which he has worked in his career. However, he has stressed that such a rich deal, with the potential to affect the team's ability to sign other players, must be entered into with caution.

Even major contracts can be negotiated quickly under deadline pressure, and the types of differences the Saints and Brees have can be resolved in less than a day, so there remains plenty of time to work out a deal.

However, if the deadline passes without a long-term contract, Brees could still hold out for a one-year contract worth more than the current franchise tag.

Brees could also hold out until the Saints put it in writing that they will not use the franchise tag on him again next season, allowing him to test the open market.

Redskins
Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III said that he hopes to sign his contract in time to report to Redskins Park on Monday along with his fellow rookies as they prepare for the July 26 kickoff of training camp. Griffin said that negotiations are ongoing, and that he, his agent and the Redskins all remain committed to getting him in camp on time. "I think my agent and the Redskins both know it's paramount for me to be in camp on time, and I think they're going to work towards that."

Colts
Home games could be blacked out on television in the Indianapolis area this season if the team doesn't sell all its tickets. Chief Operating Officer Pete Ward said the team has 2,000 season tickets still to be sold. If those don't sell, the team will try to sell tickets for individual games.



NFL camps

Among the first teams to open camp are Washington (Monday), Tampa Bay (Wednesday) and New England (July 19), all of whom welcome rookies on those dates. The Steelers -- rookies and veterans -- report to Saint Vincent College July 25.



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