New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara checked out of the last day of minicamp early, and it’s been crickets ever since.
The five-time Pro Bowl running back left amid a contract dispute, but it’s important to note he never sat out. His unhappiness never led to him skipping practice. With training camp on the horizon, it’ll be interesting to see if Kamara handles the situation the same way.
If Kamara chooses to sit out, the Saints can fine him $50,000 per day that he misses. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones lost a total of $2 million by sitting out all of training camp last summer. The Chiefs put easy incentives into his new contract for him to recoup those fines, but not every team will be as generous.
To avoid fines, we’ve seen players “sit-in” during training camp. Players using this method show up to practice, but usually don’t participate beyond warmups. This is much kinder to the player’s pockets while still getting their point across.
The only report that has come out since minicamp is he wants a new contract that includes some sort of guarantee beyond this season. There’s been no inkling on if the two sides have made any progress or not.
Alvin Kamara’s presence and participation level is one of the most important storylines to watch at Saints training camp.
