New Orleans Saints News, Rumors: Sean Payton Agrees to New Five-Year Deal
It looks like the New Orleans Saints are heading into a longer partnership with Coach Sean Payton after the announcement of a new deal that will allow him to guide the team for another five years, or roughly up to the 2020 season.
Per Ed Werder of ESPN, the extension is worth a little over $45 million. It has been a whirlwind offseason made up uncertainties and back and forth negotiations. In as early as last season, there was some talk that Payton was going to leave the Saints if they reached an agreement on a compensation package. However, they couldn't come into terms and it even reached a point when the atmosphere within the team was quite edgy.
The 52-year old former player already owned one of the most lucrative coaching contracts in the league the last time he signed one. He's been with the Saints for nine seasons after spending time with the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. In those nine seasons with the Saints, he owns a winning record of 87-57, highlighted by winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2007 and the 2009 victory in Super Bowl XLIV against the Indianapolis Colts. He also attained his best record as a head coach that season, guiding the Saints to 13 wins with only three losses.
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Aside from Payton, the Saints are also currently trying hard to convince starting quarterback Drew Brees to sign a four-year contract extension that will likewise keep him until the 2020 season. Keeping Brees is definitely a decision that Payton himself made.
Talking to the press about the new contract, he admitted there wasn't really any team out there that he would want to coach. "There's so much of you in there, that I don't see myself working anywhere else," he said. He also appreciated the fact that team ownership has been very consistent and functional.
