Steadfast throughout the contract negotiations the Drew Brees camp and Mickey Loomis have had in years passed is the notion that they do not work through the media. Requests for updates at any juncture have been stonewalled consistently. Whether it was the previous contract or current discussions revolving around a latest extension, we’ve almost never gotten an inkling into how close or far apart the two sides were. That’s been the norm. So it does give me a little pause when the media, for really the first time ever in Brees/Loomis negotiations, gets clued in.
It all started with Drew Brees taking the bait five days ago when he revealed there have been no talks between his side and the Saints for 3 months. That tidbit of news was much more revealing than past information, and alarming from the standpoint that there’s clearly been little to no urgency to get something done. Brees’s comments did two things: it was a personal call to action in hopes it would motivate the Saints to re-focus on the topic and it publicly puts pressure on the organization making them look bad for standing idle. The message to the public was sent pretty clearly that the Saints are dropping the ball here. That strategy in contract talks is far from unheard of but it has been seldom if at all utilized between Brees and Loomis. So it had me a little worried.
And then, of course, Pandora’s box was opened and Loomis had to publicly save face and retort. From his training camp opening presser:
“We haven’t made any progress. Lots of players play into the last year of their contract. It happened the last time with us, not a preference … but nothing unusual. I guess I would always hope that we would have a deal done, but we don’t. I’m available. My phone is on the hook and ready to be rung.”
These comments didn’t directly address Brees lamenting the lack of communication, but it emphatically stated the sentiment of – actually, the ball is in their court, not mine.
Loomis also took it a step further:
“[Brees] is one of the top quarterbacks in the league and is paid as such — and we expect to do that.”
This implies what they have offered and plan to offer Brees is totally reasonable and fair. This shifts the public perception a bit in that it implies – if a deal isn’t done here, it’s Drew being greedy.
I’ve envisioned this possibly being the last year Brees would be in New Orleans, though never that seriously. After what has transpired in the last week, though, I’m starting to become more and more prepared for the slightly more than unlikely scenario that has him playing out the final year of his contract before signing with another team in free agency next offseason. Of course there are still options in place (transition tag or franchise tag) that the Saints could resort to to avoid this, even if a contract isn’t done. But I’m also starting to wonder if they would even want to do that?
It’s entirely possible that this week was a little bit of public news leak from both sides before things immediately go back to being behind closed doors. It’s also possible this is the beginning of an escalation period where the media is used with more prevalence than ever to tug at the hearts of the fan base. Loomis doesn’t want fan perception to be that he’s botching something so critical and Brees doesn’t want to be seen as an inflexible guy that only cares about record finances. And if they start the media tug of war, that means things really aren’t going that well and it’s time to be seriously concerned about a possible resolution.
So again, yes, I’m officially worried. And at the very least, right now it seems crystal clear nothing will get done anytime soon and we’ll be waiting for finality on this issue right up to the 11th hour once again.
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