Saints QB Brees has no contract: Gets the Franchise Tag.

[Coachnorm]

Days pass, seasons change, and the New Orleans Saints still don't have a long-term contract with Drew Brees. The uncertainty is driving Saints fans into purple, green and gold conniptions. The market for elite quarterbacks was set when Tom Brady inked his four-year, $72 million deal in 2010 and Peyton Manning signed a five-year, $90 million deal last season. It is highly unlikely that Brees will play for anyone but New Orleans next year. The owner of the single season passing yardage record is a top tier quarterback and is justifiable of a first round selection in virtually all fantasy formats for 2012

conniptions....... I haven't heard that one in awhile...... I imagine so. Hearing about an 18 million a year offer that is 5 million short

Peytons contract was for $23 million a year but that may soon be voided.

[xqj47alpha]

The price tag gets a nifty boost if PM can't play.
waiting on that one says the agent, due diligence and all.

[mudloggerone]

Saints assigned the exclusive-rights franchise tag to QB Drew Brees.
The "exclusive-rights" tag means Brees cannot talk with other teams, and also guarantees roughly $1 million more than the standard franchise tag. The Saints' continued inability to sign Brees to a long-term deal means premier free agent LG Carl Nicks will now almost certainly walk in free agency, while Marques Colston likely won't be far behind. The Saints still have until July 16 to work out a long-term accord with their record-breaking quarterback, but recent reports have pegged the two sides as much as $5 million a year apart. With talks moving at a snail's pace since last August, there's little reason to believe a breakthrough is on the horizon.

Totally and completely disappointing news for Saint's fans especially on the heels of BountyGate.

[Coachnorm]

Ouch.... Most of the players across the league don't seem to think Bounty Gate is really no big deal.

[jjtweeks]

it's really not because in some form or fashion it has always been going on, but now such a big deal is being made out of it. What makes it sound so bad is it sounds so organized.. $1000 for this ...1500 for that ... 8000 for this player. That's seemingly nothing with what these guys get paid so that was a bonehead move whoever started that part of it. Whatever happened to a pat on the butt or a slap on the back for leveling someone out. Players understand but unfortunately the higher ups are gonna make examples of some people. As long as you don't play dirty hit em as hard as you want and if you want throw a sticker on your helmet.

[xqj47alpha]

Not being a fan of the franchise tag, this one could make sense. As in dollars and cents.
It could be the Saints couldn't figure out how to restructure his contract in order to sign Colston.

If the Saints end up signing Colston to a nice contract, my guess it that would be the case.
If they don't sign Colston, then it's obviously not the case

[mudloggerone]

WWL in New Orleans is speculating that somehow this move by Brees is for the good of the team in that he kept the franchise tag from being applied to one of the other two studs we need to keep. I think they were talking in Cajun or something in that their talk tonight did not compute with my brain. Time will tell I guess. Brees knows the Saints can't pay him what the market indicates and keep the key pieces in place to win championships. The hope is that he did this to actually help us keep the pieces we need in New Orleans. Like I said, it sounds like French to me. Time will tell.

[xqj47alpha]

More often the player tagged feels slighted.
In this case, speculation is that Brees knows he's not being slighted.

by not tagging either of the other two, the saints are demonstrating a respect for those players.
and respect and loyalty are tough to buy

also, i hadn't seen that story from wwl.
but it sounds like i'm saying the same thing.

[mudloggerone]

WIST-AM New Orleans reports Drew Brees is "livid" about being franchise tagged, and will not sign his tender.
WIST-AM New Orleans is not typically in the business of breaking major Saints' news, but this is certainly plausible. The Saints and Brees have been fruitlessly working toward an extension for nearly two years, and have made surprisingly little progress since talks got serious in August. The two sides now have until July 16 to work out a long-term contract. If a deal is yet to be reached by then, Brees not reporting to training camp cannot be ruled out.

Source: WIST-AM New Orleans


When it rains it pours. Kind of feels like the big man upstairs is kicking us around a bit this off season, lol. I'd be really worried if I had of just once heard of this radio station but I haven't. Still there's no doubt that Brees and the Saints both have reason to be unhappy about the contract situation.