Saints trying to sign Michael Thomas for less than $20M per year

Michael Thomas sought $22M per year on a Saints extension, and this was a reduced demand, last month. The Saints appear to prefer their top wideout end up just shy of $20M AAV. The Saints, though, may be moving up gradually. Their latest offer came in between $18-$19M AAV, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports (on Twitter). This is consistent with what the team was offering in June, only they did not look to be close to a $19MM average at that point. Odell Beckham Jr.‘s $18M-AAV pact remains the league’s standard, but Julio Jones is expected to eclipse that soon. Thomas, 26, is lurking as a possible candidate to then surpass Jones as the NFL’s highest-paid wideout. A deal worth $20M AAV, with certain structure and guarantees, would likely be enough to convince Thomas to sign, Robinson adds. Beckham and Mike Evans pace the receiver market in total and full guarantees, with the former’s figures at $40.9M and $65M, respectively. Of course, Jones is almost certainly pushing to land atop both lists. Being four ye

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