Where is Alvin Kamara?
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been missing from training camp for the past few days, and it is believed to be contract related according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
At the end of January, Kamara said that there 'might be something going on' with his contract, but nothing ever transpired. In early August, Kamara was asked about his situation and said that he wasn't worried or concerned about a contract right now, leaving it up to the Saints and his agent. He also revealed that he played through a MCL injury sustained in Week 6's road game against the Jaguars.
In that interview, Kamara said, "Me and my agent talked briefly about it and I said, don't tell me anything about a contract until it's like something where it's happening of if it's something that I need to know, other than that, like if I was my own agent then I'd have everything to tell you guys about a contract, but I'm not. I don't talk upstairs about contracts, I don't talk to coaches about contracts. I'm just here to do my job. I'm healthy. I'm back with my teammates. We're working towards getting ready for Tampa."
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When asked on Monday if Kamara's absence was injury related, Sean Payton said that he didn't want to get into it at this time. The Saints front office did a good job handling the Michael Thomas situation last season, but with the uncertainty facing next season's salary cap, it complicates things. While it's not impossible, the details are what is what to watch here, as the annual average value is likely the biggest part of the equation to solve for.
As we looked at in early July, Kamara certainly has the resume to get paid. We just don't know how much, but more guaranteed money could go a long way.
Current Contract
Kamara is scheduled to earn $2,133,000 base salary with a $243,193 prorated bonus in 2020. Kamara's 2017 NFL Draft classmate Christian McCaffrey will have a base salary of $825,000 and a bonus of $6,969,782 for 2020. In April, McCaffrey signed a four-year contract extension with the Panthers averaging $16M per year. His contract became the richest in NFL history for a running back.
