After a day of practice, Pierre Thomas’ contract is already a hot topic. THIS ARTICLE on nola.com talks about the current contract situation with PT cruiser and the organization. There’s a “large difference of opinion” in negotiations, suggesting both sides are very far apart. Thomas is currently playing on a 1 year deal worth $1.7 million, so if nothing gets worked out he would be an unrestricted free agent at the start of next offseason. As long as he doesn’t sustain a serious injury, you have to figure he is in line to receive a massive contract on the open market. Someone will pay him a ridiculous amount more than what the Saints are currently willing to offer. At some point if these negotiations continue, Thomas will either decide that A. it’s gotten personal, and the damage done is too much for him to consider playing for the Saints anymore after this season or B. he’s getting close enough to the offseason that he’d at least want to test the open market to see what kind of offer he’d bring even if he hasn’t completely written off the possibility of coming back to the Saints. Knowing how the NFL works, I fear the latter because there’s always a desperate team out there that will throw silly money at someone they value more than their worth. That’s not to say Pierre isn’t a terrific tailback, but I also think the Cleveland Browns paid Scott Fujita way more than anyone should have. I’m not necessarily saying the Saints should balk and pay a premium for Thomas either. The Saints have a strong case that he’s a role player in the Saints backfield, which consisted of four contributors. I’m sure Thomas wants to be paid like the head dog. One thing is for sure, Reggie Bush makes way more than his production level. It would be nice to see those two players a bit more even on the pay scale, but such is life in the NFL. Thomas was undrafted, and Bush was picked 2nd overall. I have a bad feeling about how this will end, and I hope I’m wrong.
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