Travis Etienne’s Contract Details Revealed

One of the New Orleans Saints’ top signings this offseason was RB Travis Etienne, but he was the only contract left to be revealed. At first glance, when the numbers were released, it looked like Etienne was set to make $ 13 million per year, but usually the number is lower than that when the offical contract is out. Well, those numbers have been released, and although the APY is not much lower, there is an interesting aspect of what the Saints did with the contract.

So Etienne is set to make $11.85M per year, and while most of the cap space is guaranteed through 2027, it ends after those seasons. Entering the 2028 offseason, Etienne will be 29-years old, which is not too old to still be a great RB, but just in case, the Saints can get out of his contract that offseason.

A pre-June 1st cut would save the Saints $9 million and incur a dead cap hit of $6 million, but a post-June 1st would save $12 million with a $3 million dead cap hit. This means the Etienne contract can be viewed as a two-year deal that protects the Saints from having to pay an older RB who may be entering the fall-off period. What makes this very interesting is that this could hint that the Saints are not done adding to the RB room.

Getting a rookie on day 1 or 2 will give the Saints a long-term option to split carries with Etienne and, hopefully, take over in 2028. It would be a very good long-term plan, and with the Jeremiyah Love conversation, it comes up again. Yes, other needs should be addressed at 8, and it’s a bit of a wild pick, but Love and Etienne would be the best RB room in the league, and Love would be the long-term option for the next 8 years.

Now, again, it comes down to Love being there, which I doubt happens, but the draft is wild, and anything could happen.