Safety Tyrann Mathieu allegedly signs a two-year contract with the Saints.
According to NewOrleans.Football, Tyrann Mathieu and the New Orleans Saints reached an agreement on a new two-year contract on Thursday.
According to Josina Anderson, the contract has a $13 million value. The safety, who was approaching the end of his contract with the Saints, would have cost the organisation one of the larger salary cap hits—roughly $12 million.
Restructuring or extending Mathieu’s contract would have given the salary cap-constrained franchise greater spending freedom prior to the start of the new league year next Monday. Cutting Mathieu would have essentially saved New Orleans nothing.
The 31-year-old recently concluded a season in which he led his hometown team in tackles with 75, pass deflections with nine, interceptions with four, and touchdowns. After three seasons and a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, the three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro signed with the Saints in 2022.
Mathieu has started 34 games with 166 tackles, 17 passes defended, and seven interceptions in his two years with New Orleans. Due to their tiebreaker with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints, who finished second in the NFC South with a 9-8 record, were not eligible for the playoffs.
Two days after the Chicago Bears placed the 24-year-old cornerback under the non-exclusive franchise tag, the two parties are allegedly close to reaching an agreement on a four-year, $76 million contract.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bears will pay out $60 million over the first three years, with $54 million guaranteed.
Johnson was able to sign with another team when the free agent market opened next week since the Bears had given him a non-exclusive franchise tag prior to Tuesday’s deadline. However, the Bears would be entitled to match any offer he received or earn two first-round draft selections in exchange for him leaving.
Johnson’s one-year compensation, as guaranteed by the non-exclusive franchise tag, would be based on a system that takes the average of the five highest-paid players at the same position over the previous five seasons and adds 120% to that amount, whichever is higher.
