New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees unhappy with franchise tag - NFL News
New Orleans Saints would not want any more trouble after being implicated in a National Football League (NFL) investigation for running an illegal bounty system.
However, they have done just that with the Saints tagging quarterback, Drew Brees, before Monday’s deadline to keep him at the franchise for one more year and give them more time to negotiate a long-term deal with Brees.
Brees though, according to CBSsports, is reportedly “livid” with the tag, which will pay him an estimated $ 16 million to $ 17 million for the 2012 season.
The quarterback and the franchise have been engaged in negotiations over a new contract since January, but no deal could be agreed upon with Brees rejecting multiple offers from the Saints which reportedly would have made him the highest paid player in NFL
history.
The 33-year-old, according to sources cited in the report, is unhappy with the tag and will not sign the short-term deal with the Saints.
Both the franchise and Brees have till July 16 to agree on a new deal and waive the tag, but if that scenario does not play out, the quarterback has the option to play for one more year or holdout from games.
The quarterback has the upper hand in negotiations as he is a firm fan favourite and the Saints would not have reached the level of success they now enjoy without him on the roster.
New Orleans won their one and only Super Bowl trophy in 2009-10 as Brees put in wonderful performances to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
Last season too Brees put up phenomenal records to get the Saints into the playoff divisional rounds. The quarterback passed for a record 5,476 yards and threw the league-highest 46 touchdown passes.
He also was the only player in 2011-12 to challenge Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year award.
There is no other quarterback available right now who would deliver such brilliant performances for the Saints and without him, New Orleans could well return to the ignominy that defined them before the quarterback’s arrival in 2006.
The Saints are under pressure from all sides as they await the NFL’s punishment for their role in running an illegal bounty programme and now with Brees unhappy, things could not go much worse for the National Football Conference (NFC) South division Champions.
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