METAIRIE, La. -- It has become a running joke over the past decade that the New Orleans Saints don’t believe in the salary cap.
That they kept proving it didn’t really exist every time they made Drew Brees the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback or Michael Thomas the highest-paid receiver or Jahri Evans the highest-paid guard or Jimmy Graham the highest-paid tight end or even Jairus Byrd the highest-paid safety. (Hey, they don’t all pan out.)
Unfortunately, the salary cap became a harsh reality for the Saints and other teams around the league over the past year when it unexpectedly plummeted by nearly $20 million per team due to lost revenues from the pandemic.