There's more to Travis Etienne Jr's Saints contract than meets the eye

[ASFN Admin]

Details are in on Travis Etienne Jr.'s contract with the New Orleans Saints, and there's more to his deal than you'd expect at first glance. Etienne's contract was initially reported as a four-year, $52 million deal. And he could very well see every penny. But Etienne's 2026 salary cap hit is just $5 million, and his contract is structured with an exit ramp in 2028. So it could end up being a two-year deal if the Saints choose to go in another direction after 2026 and 2027. On top of that, the real value at signing is just $47 million with incentives padding it out "up to" that $52 million number his agent put out last week.

Here's how it shakes out:

• 2026 salary cap hit: $5 million ($2 million base salary, $3 million signing bonus proration)
• 2027 salary cap hit: $13 million ($10 million base salary, $3 million signing bonus proration)
• 2028 salary cap hit: $15 million ($12 million base salary, $3 million signing bonus proration)
• 2029 salary cap hit: $14 million ($11 million base salary, $3 million signing bonus proration)

Etienne was guaranteed $24 million at signing, between his $12 million signing bonus and his base salaries in 2026 and 2027. So there are few guarantees left by Year 3, meaning the Saints could make a clean break if it comes to that. Hopefully it doesn't. You'd like to see Etienne playing well, running hard, and scoring lots of touchdowns through all four years of this deal. They could invest in a rookie to develop behind him like Mike Washington Jr. (Arkansas) or Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest), but it looks like Etienne will be taking the lion's share of touches out of the backfield. With or without Alvin Kamara.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL free agency: Details on Travis Etienne Jr.'s Saints contract

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