The Saints and wide receiver Michael Thomas agreed to a restructured contract that creates a potential deadline for the team to decide whether to bring him back next year.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, New Orleans reduced Thomas’ 2023 base salary $15.5 million to $1.165 million and added a 31.755 million roster bonus for 2024 due on the third day of the 2023 league year. Therefore, if Thomas is on the roster on March 17, it would mean the team is committing to him for each of the next two years.
The restructured contract gives the team around $14 million more in financial leeway if Thomas does remain on the team for the 2023 season. Thomas’s contract effectively runs through 2024, with two void years added on the end that would not come into play.
The Saints are expected to have the least amount of cap space in the league in 2023 season, as they currently are over the limit by $53 million entering the offseason, per Over the Cap. They also have over $277 million committed to the team next year, a league high.
After not playing in 2021, Thomas has appeared in just three games for the Saints this season, totaling 171 yards and three touchdowns on 16 catches. He is now three years removed from his 149-catch, 1,725-yard 2019 season, both of which led the league.
