Deciding the value in an NFL contract is a tricky business. It’s easy enough to find the contract numbers — we use Over The Cap — but parsing it down to what actually counts against the salary cap, then weighing that against on-field performance is where things get interesting.
So we ranked the 15 best contract values for this year’s New Orleans Saints team. They’re flush with big-time players on a low-value rookie contracts (like running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas), but the Saints also enjoy the benefits of having worked out long-term deals ahead of schedule. Defensive end Cameron Jordan could easily hold out to demand a raise in the neighborhood of $20 million per year (which is what other players on his talent level make) but he’s instead quietly working on a comparatively-low $14 million number. So he counts, too.
However, some players are accounted for more than their performance reflects (like left guard Andrus Peat at $9.6 million, or linebacker A.J. Klein at $6 million). So those numbers wouldn’t be considered. Quarterback Drew Brees leads the team with a $22.7 million salary cap hit; it could be higher, but there’s no sugar-coating that as a bargain.
Here’s our ranking of the 15 most-valuable contracts on the 2019 Saints:
