Saints' Kamara: 'Too late for contract talks' this season
Running back Alvin Kamara doesn't expect his contract negotiations with the New Orleans Saints to continue during the 2024 regular season.
"It's too late for contract talks," Kamara said Monday, according to Fletcher Mackel of WDSU.
He added: "I mean, if it get done, cool. If it don't, cool. I'm kinda at the point where I'm not talking about it until after the season. I don't want to talk about it."
Kamara and the Saints engaged in contract talks earlier this year but weren't able to come to an agreement during the offseason. The five-time Pro Bowler skipped the team's last day of mandatory minicamp in June amid stalled negotiations. However, he reported to training camp with the club.
Kamara is under contract for two more years, and his current deal has a base salary of $10.2 million in 2024 and $22.4 million in 2025, respectively. He originally signed a five-year, $75-million extension in 2020 that made him the NFL's second-highest-paid running back in average annual salary.
However, New Orleans would save $18.9 million in salary-cap space with $10.1 million in dead money if it releases Kamara with a pre-June 1 designation in 2025, according to Over The Cap. If the team cuts the 29-year-old as a post-June 1 move next year, the Saints would gain $25 million in cap savings against just $4 million in dead money.
Kamara fueled speculation about his frustration with the Saints after recently putting his house up for sale. He addressed the situation Monday by suggesting it doesn't have anything to do with his contract situation.
"I would like to call myself a serial entrepreneur," Kamara said. "I dabble in many things, real estate being one of them. ... I think it was a good financial decision to list my house."
He added: "My brother is a real estate agent, also. I wouldn't say that I had an exact plan, but I'm pretty intentional when it comes to those moves that I make in real estate."
Kamara topped 1,000 scrimmage yards for a seventh straight campaign while appearing in just 13 games in 2023. He also scored six touchdowns. But the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year - who led the NFL with 6.1 yards per rushing attempt as a rookie - averaged only 3.9 yards per carry last season.