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Saints Michael Thomas Keeps Ballin', Making History, and NFL Fans are Buzzin'
Michael Thomas keeps "Ballin', keeps making history, keeps getting better and better for the New Orleans Saints. His history making performance in 2019 has been "flying under the radar" until last week. Yesterday in Tampa, Thomas set another significant record. He recorded over 90 receptions within his team's first 10 games of a season. Eclipsing Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison and NFC South opponent Julio Jones, both at 89, for the record. Before the day ended, the All-Pro wide receiver had 94 receptions for 1,141 yards in 2019. Saints Reporter, Amie Just tweeted, Thomas is on pace for 150 catches before the playoffs.
On Sunday, Thomas (4,928 yds) passed Saints legend WR Danny Abramowicz(4,875 yds) at 4th on the team's all-time receiving yardage list. Joe Horn is next at #3 with 7,622 yards receiving for the Saints.
Thomas signed his mega-deal with the Saints in the summer and here are the details from Spotrac's website:
Michael Thomas signed a 5 year, $96,250,000 contract with the New Orleans Saints, including a $20,000,000 signing bonus, $60,598,043 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $19,250,000. In 2019, Thomas will earn a base salary of $1,648,043 and a signing bonus of $20,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $6,128,765 and a dead cap value of $36,128,765. (Courtesy of Spotrac)
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What impresses most about Thomas is through all the praise, honors, and huge contract, he has done a magnificent job staying "humble and hardworking" for the Saints organization. In an era of "Divaesque" Wide Receivers making negative press for the NFL, Thomas has demonstrated how to be respectful and enjoy the wealth of accolades without creating chaos.
In his interview with Deion "Primetime" Sanders last night after the Saints defeated the Buccaneers, Sanders noted how remarkable Thomas "goes harder" after just getting "paid" (by the Saints contract), and it seems he's not just "sitting back and collecting a check":
Saints fans have appreciated Michael Thomas the player since he put on a Black and Gold uniform in his rookie year. Today, many across the NFL are applauding Thomas on a weekly basis. Thomas' 2016 rookie campaign had the lively receiver catching 92 balls and 1137 yards receiving from Drew Brees. Last season (2018), he was 5th in NFL history with 125 passes caught. This season, many NFL fans have taken notice of his efforts and are "rooting for" him to break the NFL record set by Harrison (143) he set in 2002 with the Colts.
He has lived up to his moniker "CAN'T GUARD MIKE", but most all he is living well as a model Wide Receiver and NFL Player. If it's not his acrobatic moves to snag one of Brees' footballs out of thin-air, or it could be the power he generates to drive defenders backwards for a first-down, he is special. As a Saints fan, I and many Who Dats appreciate being a witness to the highlights and historical moments from Michael Thomas.
