Kamara wants new deal, but won’t make waves

Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff WriterJul 24, 2024, 06:15 PM ET
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IRVINE, Calif. — New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara confirmed his request for a new contract on Wednesday, but he made it clear he won’t hold out from training camp while those talks are ongoing.

“I ain’t stupid, I ain’t going to give the money up. I’m trying to get some money,” Kamara joked in his first public comments since he skipped the final practice of mandatory minicamp in June.

There have been several high profile holdouts across the league this week as teams begin practice, with some including fines of $40,000 to $50,000 for each missed day. Kamara doesn’t plan to join that group, despite his disappointment that no significant progress has been made on a new deal.

Kamara participated in all parts of the Saints’ first practice Wednesday, including 11-on-11 drills. He indicated he does not plan to “hold in” — report to camp but sit out portions of practice, ala San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Kamara said that he doesn’t think it would be fair to his teammates to skip practice when the contract issues are only between him and the front office.

“It’s no one that has a jersey on,” Kamara said. “… I wouldn’t even blame any coaches for what’s going on with the contract issues right now, right? This happens all across the league. It happens here, it happens everywhere. … I’d be a fool to spite my teammates because of a dispute I’m having with upstairs. I wouldn’t even call it a dispute; we’re just having conversations.”

Kamara has two years remaining on the five-year extension he signed prior to the 2020 season, but has no guaranteed money left after this season. His 2024 salary cap hit of $18.5 million is the highest on the team, but the Saints elected not to restructure his deal, as they could save almost $19 million next year if they released him without a restructured contract.

Kamara, however, expected his deal to be restructured — like it was in 2022 and 2023 — but after no progress was made in the spring, he sent a message by skipping the final practice of minicamp. And the decision not to restructure Kamara’s contract was made more notable when the Saints restructured or addressed every other major contract on the roster.

“There was other talks about other things that I’m not going to get into, but I guess there were some feelings that I didn’t do something that they wanted me to do, and we’re here now,” Kamara said. “So it ain’t really been too many conversations.”

Kamara said his search for a new contract is about looking ahead long-term and that he’d like to retire as a Saint.

“I want to be a Saint for a long time, for as long as my career goes. That’s all I’m looking for really,” Kamara said. “I mean some people say the money don’t matter. The money does matter.

“But in the grand scheme of things, I made a lot of money and I do well off the field also. … I want it to be fair but … as far as money goes, I’m not chasing nothing that’s outlandish or that’s … offputting.”

Kamara, who turns 29 on Thursday, said he understands his age and two disappointing seasons likely factor into how the front office is approaching his contract. He countered that he doesn’t feel like he’s anywhere close to done.

“It was obviously disappointing the past two years I had and I’m not going to point fingers at what it was and I just know I don’t feel like I’m on the decline,” Kamara said. “I feel like I can play for four or five more years if I want to …

“But I think that’s probably part of the conversation. And then at this position [running back], we always get the ages thrown at us. … There’s like a reluctancy to commit to an aging body at this position. It’s situational, but at the same time it is what it is. I’m here, I’m going to come out here and do what I do. My bones don’t hurt, my legs are working, my hands work. I don’t feel like I have aging running back body syndrome.”

Kamara said he does not have a timetable in mind for something to get done and said he plans on playing this season.

“I’m here. I’m playing. I plan on playing. So if there’s no commitment to years after this, I feel like y’all pay attention to football more than me. You know what that means,” he said, laughing.

When asked one more time to clarify if he was playing the entire season if a new contract doesn’t happen, Kamara focused his attention to the present.

“I’m here today. Weather’s beautiful, I’m breathing. I got a good practice in, I’m here with my teammates” Kamara said. “We’ll see what happens.”