The Vikings and Saints didn’t want to go into the season with unfinished business and baggage. Both teams on the day before their season opener locked up their Pro Bowl running backs to huge deals.
Alvin Kamara got the big deal from the Saints he’d been wanting and held out for early in camp. The deal happened simultaneously to Dalvin Cook getting locked into a monster deal in Minnesota.
Sources: The #Saints & star RB Alvin Kamara have reached an agreement on a huge 5-year contract extension worth $75M in new money. He gets $77.133M overall and a $15M signing bonus. Kamara cashes in. Agent Damarius Bilbo of Klutch Sports did the deal. 💰 💰 💰
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2020
Dalvin Cook gets a $15.5 million signing bonus — the largest for a non-quarterback in franchise history. And the #Vikings lock up the centerpiece of their offense through 2025. https://t.co/pDQZ7ZSucg
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 12, 2020
These are not the first sizable contracts given to running backs this offseason. The first went to Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey back in April, making him the highest-paid back in the league. The All-Pro back signed a 4-year, $64 million extension and likely put the Vikings and Saints on notice.
Kamara’s deal makes him the second-highest paid back in the NFL, behind McCaffrey. As it happens the Raiders face both backs in the first two weeks of the season.
All three of those backs were drafted in 2017, making this the first offseason they were eligible for an extension.
The Raiders have their own highly talented running back in Josh Jacobs who they selected in the first round in 2019. That means they have a couple of years before they have to worry about backing up the Brinks truck.
