Playing a season in the NFL in a contract year is always an interesting situation. Speculation on performance – and the payday that awaits – always runs wild on social media, fan forums, and blogging sites across the world. This year, 28 of the 90 New Orleans Saints currently under contract are expected to play out the 2015-2016 campaign on one-year contracts with no futures in place. If things go well, they can be rewarded for their efforts (possibly in another city), or they can go the way of the dodo.
Historically, it’s hard to win a contract extension in New Orleans, even for drafted players – by my count, 30 of the Saints’ 53 draft picks made under the Sean Payton-Mickey Loomis regime have either received their second contracts with another team or not at all.