Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Sigler

Updated 2023 Saints salary cap outlook after Michael Thomas contract restructure

The New Orleans Saints shaved more than $14 million off their books in a contract restructure with Michael Thomas, setting up the former All-Pro wide receiver for a split in March. Thomas is likely going to be released with a post-June 1 designation, which would create the greatest savings against the 2023 salary cap, but that’s something to worry about on another day.

In the meantime, we have a better idea now of the Saints’ salary cap outlook for the coming offseason. Thomas lowered his 2023 cap hit from $28.2 million to just over $13.1 million, which brings their current cap commitments down from $283 million to about $267 million, give or take a couple million dollars. That’s still well over the projected salary cap for 2023; multiple reports have said it will settle at around $220 million, with an influx of new broadcasting rights deals padding the NFL’s coffers.

Buy Saints Tickets

So at the end of the day, the Saints still have a lot of work to do after this contract restructure with Thomas. Over The Cap’s estimates have New Orleans in the red by more than $38.7 million. Here are some of the top salary cap hits they’ll need to address in the weeks and months ahead:

1
DE Cameron Jordan ($25.7 million)

AP Photo/Rusty Jones

2
CB Marshon Lattimore ($22.4 million)

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

3
RT Ryan Ramczyk ($21.4 million)

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

4
LG Andrus Peat ($18.3 million)

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

5
RB Alvin Kamara ($16 million)

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

6
QB Jameis Winston ($15.6 million)

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

7
TE Taysom Hill ($13.9 million)

Nick Cammett/Getty Images

8
LB Demario Davis ($13.2 million)

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

9
WR Michael Thomas ($13.1 million)

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

10
C Erik McCoy ($12.6 million)

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.