Alvin Kamara joins Dalvin Cook as the second running back from the 2017 NFL Draft class to receive an extension one day before the first Sunday of the NFL season. The Saints are giving him a five-year, $75 million deal according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Sources: The #Saints & star RB Alvin Kamara have reached an agreement on a huge 5-year contract extension worth $75M in new money. He gets $77.133M overall and a $15M signing bonus. Kamara cashes in. Agent Damarius Bilbo of Klutch Sports did the deal. 💰 💰 💰
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2020
It had been rumored that Kamara and the Saints were close to finishing an extension for the past couple of days. A few days prior to this a holdout and potential trade were rumored to happen if the extension did not happen. However, neither happened to be the case.
Though Kamara has never rushed for 1,000 yards in a single season, he has proven to be an offensive threat in both the running and passing game and also a touchdown machine. In his first three seasons, Kamara has 2,408 rushing yards, 2,068 receiving yards, and 37 total touchdowns.
Last season was Kamara’s worst season as far as touchdown production and total scrimmage yards, which is surprising because that was the first time he took the backfield over from former teammate Mark Ingram. Last season after missing two games due to a “tweaked ankle and knee” Kamara had only 1,330 scrimmage yards and six total touchdowns. It was later revealed that last season he had been dealing with a torn MCL.
Kamara’s contract is tied with Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys for the second-highest-paid running back in the league on a per-year basis (behind Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers). His $75 million contract value his the second-biggest contract for a running back in the NFL also behind Elliot.
Kamara’s payday is a result of his amazing resume he has since entering the league. In 2017 Kamara won the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and was a Second-Team All-Pro. He is also a three-time Pro Bowler throughout his first three seasons.
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