Sources: Saints, WR Thomas reach $100M deal

5:05 am | July 31, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

Michael Thomas has reached agreement with the New Orleans Saints on a five-year, $100 million extension that includes $61 million guaranteed and makes him the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Thomas is now tied to the Saints for the next six years, through the 2024 season.

Thomas is set to make $1.148 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract. He did not report for the start of Saints training camp as he sought a new deal.

Thomas was one of several high-profile players holding out from training camp, including Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys running backs Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott, Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.

Ngakoue noticed news of Thomas’ deal and tweeted “well deserved.”

The Saints have never paid a skill-position player more than $10 million per year, which was the size of tight end Jimmy Graham‘s extension before he was traded away in 2015. But Thomas, who was drafted in the second round out of Ohio State in 2016, has played a bigger role in New Orleans’ offense than any skill-position player to come before him in the Payton-Drew Brees era.