The Carolina Panthers made Christian McCaffrey the highest-paid running back in the league’s history on Monday, giving the All-Pro a four-year extension with an average payout of $16 million per year.
Despite the obvious risks of paying running backs (see Todd Gurley), the Panthers were prepared to make a huge investment in McCaffrey heading into his fourth NFL season.
And that was welcomed news from an NFC South rival.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who is entering the final year of his contract with New Orleans, was in the middle of a Twitch stream as news broke about McCaffrey’s deal. It’s safe to say that Kamara was pumped.
A smiling Kamara said upon hearing the news:
“Here I come … Shout out to Christian, man. That’s my boy. Talented for sure.”
While Kamara wasn’t quite as prolific as a scoring threat in 2019 as he was two seasons ago, the McCaffrey deal should give him some extra leverage in contract talks at the very least. Even if he doesn’t get McCaffrey money, the timing didn’t hurt.
The reaction said it all.
