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Everyone knows that Amari Cooper is going to get paid. It’s just a matter of when and how much. When the Cowboys decided to trade their first-round pick in the 2019 draft for Cooper, they were committed to re-signing him and their hope is to do it before his fifth-year option expires after the 2019 season.
It just so happens that a couple of other top-tier receivers were also working towards new contracts. Cooper was joined by Julio Jones and Michael Thomas in wanting new deals. Once one of them signed, the wide receiver market was expected to rise. And so it has as the Saints and Michael Thomas have reached an agreement.
Michael Thomas has reached agreement with the New Orleans Saints on a five-year, $100 million extension that includes $61 million guaranteed and makes him the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
On a basic level, that puts Thomas at $20 million, better than the $18 million for Odell Beckham, Jr., the former highest-paid receiver based on average per year. Behind those two are a group of receivers in the $16 million range.
We don’t know all the details yet of how this contract is structured, but we at least know the parameters and that should trickle down to the contracts that both Julio Jones and Amari Cooper hope to sign.
Does the Michael Thomas deal make you more worried about Amari Cooper’s?
— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) July 31, 2019
Thomas has had three straight 1,000 yard seasons to start his career, has been to two Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro last year.
Stats for Thomas:
| Game | Game | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Ctch% | AV |
| 2016 | 23 | NOR | 15 | 12 | 121 | 92 | 1137 | 12.4 | 9 | 75.8 | 76.0% | 10 |
| 2017* | 24 | NOR | 16 | 14 | 149 | 104 | 1245 | 12.0 | 5 | 77.8 | 69.8% | 13 |
| 2018*+ | 25 | NOR | 16 | 16 | 147 | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 | 87.8 | 85.0% | 17 |
| Care | Care | 47 | 42 | 417 | 321 | 3787 | 11.8 | 23 | 80.6 | 77.0% | 40 |
Stats for Cooper:
| Game | Game | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Ctch% | AV |
| 2015* | 21 | OAK | 16 | 15 | 130 | 72 | 1070 | 14.9 | 6 | 66.9 | 55.4% | 9 |
| 2016* | 22 | OAK | 16 | 14 | 132 | 83 | 1153 | 13.9 | 5 | 72.1 | 62.9% | 10 |
| 2017 | 23 | OAK | 14 | 12 | 96 | 48 | 680 | 14.2 | 7 | 48.6 | 50.0% | 6 |
| 2018* | 24 | 2TM | 15 | 15 | 107 | 75 | 1005 | 13.4 | 7 | 67.0 | 70.1% | 8 |
| * | DAL | 9 | 9 | 76 | 53 | 725 | 13.7 | 6 | 80.6 | 6 | ||
| * | OAK | 6 | 6 | 31 | 22 | 280 | 12.7 | 1 | 46.7 | 2 | ||
| Care | Care | 61 | 56 | 465 | 278 | 3908 | 14.1 | 25 | 64.1 | 59.8% | 33 | |
| 4 yr | 4 yr | OAK | 52 | 47 | 389 | 225 | 3183 | 14.1 | 19 | 61.2 | 57.8% | 27 |
| 1 yr | 1 yr | DAL | 9 | 9 | 76 | 53 | 725 | 13.7 | 6 | 80.6 | 69.7% | 6 |
Given Julio Jones’ stats and career, it’s a good bet his contract will exceed the Thomas contract. The question is will Amari Cooper’s camp push to beat the Thomas contract, or will he be content with a solid payday that doesn’t set a new high? Thomas has been the superior receiver stats-wise, but he’s also played under Sean Payton and with Drew Brees. Still, the start to his career has been phenomenal. Cooper has had some ups and downs, but he also holds some leverage as the Cowboys expended a first-round pick on him, and Cooper basically saved the season last year. He might use that to really push his deal, but will it be more than the Thomas deal?
Tod Archer doesn’t think Cooper will hit $20 Million.
Why is it tougher? $20m per year was going to be Thomas’ number. Cooper won’t top that. https://t.co/4wa0bYsVng
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) July 31, 2019
David Moore is in agreement.
Agreed. He won’t equal or top Thomas but it raises ceiling. Point is the more you give Cooper, Prescott & Elliott the less you have to distribute to other positions.
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) July 31, 2019
And good morning to you, too. https://t.co/L5M2NLjdL6
Archer puts a number range on what he thinks Cooper will get.
That’s assuming you knew what the Cowboys, Cooper floor was before Thomas’s deal. If Cowboys offered Watkins $16m in 2018 and traded a 1 for Cooper then his deal was always going to be $17.5m-$19m range to me. And good morning back. https://t.co/zmyAjo9gyr
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) July 31, 2019
We will probably find out the answer to how much Cooper will get over the next month or so.