NEW ORLEANS -- It only took $96.25 million, but Michael Thomas is officially back in the New Orleans Saints training camp.
The fourth year wide receiver finally came to terms with New Orleans, signing a five-year contract that gets him back into the fold at the Metairie training facilities.
The deal, which guarantees Thomas $60.6 million, not only makes him the highest paid wide receiver but also the highest paid player in the NFL and gives him what quarterback Drew Brees said was market driven.
“Obviously it was a lot of money, prices keep going up, but that’s what the market demanded,” Brees continued. “That’s a separate conversation.”
Thomas missed the first five days of training camp while he was going through his contract negotiations and according to him, those days were very difficult.
“Missing those reps, competing against my teammates knowing that if I win the guy across me got better or if he wins I got better, and there’s ways to coach off of that,” Thomas said Thursday. “The development in becoming a better player and a great player, you can’t do that sitting at home.”
Since being drafted by New Orleans, Thomas has appeared in 47 games with 42 starts, totaling 321 catches for 3,787 yards and 23 touchdowns.
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TRACEY JAGNEAUX Sports Editor