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EDITOR PICKS

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

NFL

Alvin Kamara looms as Saints' next big contract decision

METAIRIE, La. — Although the first big wave of free-agent spending has passed in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints’ biggest financial decision of the offseason is still looming.

Running back Alvin Kamara is heading into the final year of his rookie contract at the bargain rate of $2.133 million. So it seems inevitable that he will push for a long-term contract extension this summer.

Receiver Michael Thomas was in the same boat last year before he signed a record-breaking deal worth nearly $20 million per year. However, the math was a bit more predictable with Thomas’ deal. Kamara’s value is much harder to pinpoint because he plays such a unique role for the Saints — and because the entire RB market throughout the NFL is so difficult to pinpoint.

Here is a look at all the factors that should come into play:

Any chance the Saints trade Kamara?

This idea can’t be ruled out because we have seen the Saints trade dynamic playmakers like Brandin Cooks, Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles in recent years. But so far, there have been no reports of any trade talks involving Kamara. And in all of those other cases, the Saints made their trades before the start of free agency to clear out salary-cap space and acquire draft picks.

How much is Kamara worth?

This is the multi-million dollar question, and it’s extremely hard to answer.

In one sense, you could make the argument Kamara is special enough to keep raising the RB contract bar –- which was set by Ezekiel Elliott last year when he signed a six-year extension with the Dallas Cowboys worth $15 million per year, with $50 million guaranteed.

Alvin Kamara is a game-changer, but his limited usage and the uncertain running back market make determining his worth difficult. Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

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Gurley and Freeman were released, while Johnson got traded. Gurley then signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons that is worth between $5.5 and $6 million (though he’ll also make another $5.05 million that the Rams owed him before the trade).

Freeman, meanwhile, is still looking for work, while Melvin Gordon had to settle for a two-year, $16 million deal with the Denver Broncos and Jordan Howard a two-year, $9.75 million deal with the Miami Dolphins.

The Tennessee Titans used the franchise tag on free-agent running back Derrick Henry, which is worth $10.278 million for one year. And the Arizona Cardinals used the transition tag on Kenyan Drake at $8.483 million.

Austin Ekeler has a similar type of runner/receiver role as Kamara. But he’s not a perfect comp either because he was a restricted free agent when he signed a four-year, $24.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.

We’ll have a much better feel for the current state of the RB market over the next year, because Henry, Drake, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Kamara, Leonard Fournette, Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, Marlon Mack and James Conner are all eligible for extensions.

At some point, somebody from that group is going to have to go first, though.

What is Kamara’s value to the Saints?

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1:09

Saints head coach Sean Payton describes his reaction to Tom Brady joining the NFC South after signing with the Buccaneers.

Under the previous CBA, a player would lose an accrued season if he failed to report to training camp within 30 days of the start of the regular season (Thomas signed his new deal with the Saints before that deadline hit last year). Under the new CBA, however, a player will lose an accrued season if he fails to show up on his mandatory reporting date at the start of camp.

That means even if Kamara were to end his holdout and play a full season, he would become a restricted free agent in 2021 instead of an unrestricted free agent.

The other major change to the CBA regarding holdouts doesn’t affect Kamara because he is still on his rookie contract. Under the new CBA, daily fines are now mandatory for veteran players who hold out from training camp if they are on their second contracts or more.

Kamara would be subject to daily fines of $40,000 if he skipped training camp, but the team would have the ability to rescind those fines if they work out an extension.

Soccer

Sepp Blatter has 1 World Cup corruption case dropped

An investigation into former FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s World Cup broadcasting deals with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) will be dropped by Switzerland’s federal prosecutor, according to Reuters.

The 84-year-old was accused of selling TV rights for the 2010 and 2014 editions of the World Cup to the CFU for $600,000, a sum that was apparently well below market value at the time. However, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has revealed its intention to end the corruption probe.

In a statement, the OAG said it “considers the criminal investigation into the partial facts and allegations concerning the contractual relationship with the CFU to be complete and ready for conclusion.”

The OAG added it “intends to discontinue the proceedings” but offered no explanation for its decision.

Blatter, who is serving a six-year ban from football-related activities due to ethics violations, could be convicted in a separate case involving his $2.06-million payment to then-UEFA chief Michel Platini if the OAG determines it was unlawful.

Platini claimed the fee was for unpaid salary, backing up Blatter’s claims that it was merely a “gentleman’s agreement” between the pair following some advisory work conducted by Platini nine years earlier.

NFL

RB McCoy 'feels good,' aims to play 2 more years

LeSean McCoy said he isn’t ready to retire despite his decline in production the past two seasons. In fact, he believes he has multiple seasons left in the NFL.

“I really just want to play two more years,” McCoy said Friday in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I talk to Frank [Gore] about this. He always tells me, ‘Never put a ceiling on your career. Hey, if you feel good and you do well, do another one year and vice versa. If it doesn’t go well, just let your body talk to you.’ My body feels fine.”

The 31-year-old free-agent running back, who completed his 11th NFL season in 2019, added: “My body feels good. So I will let my body speak for when I want to be done.”

McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, said he has “a couple teams that I’m looking at.”

LeSean McCoy is ranked third among active players with 11,071 career rushing yards, behind only Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

“I’m just waiting for the right moment,” he said. “This stuff is tricky now, because there’s no visits. There’s no real activities with the teams as much as it used to be. The thing I can control is just making the right choice, going to an offense that fits. I want to go to a team that’s a winning franchise that have all the right pieces that’s waiting for me. That veteran running back to help the room out. To add a spark. The teams I’m looking at right now are those teams. I won’t discuss who they are. I look forward to probably after the draft or right before the draft, signing on with a team.”

McCoy’s playing time with the

McCoy said he embraces his role as a veteran mentor, just like Brian Westbrook did for him when he was a rookie with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

“If I could be that guy to help that young superstar to emerge into that superstar superstar, I would love to do that,” he said.

After rushing for 465 yards last season, McCoy is ranked third among active players with 11,071 in his career, behind only Gore and Adrian Peterson. Gore also is a free agent, and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told NFL Network last month that his client plans to play in 2020.

Soccer

PSG's Marquinhos says it was Neymar's plan to mock Haaland

Paris Saint-Germain star Marquinhos has lifted the lid on the club’s Erling Haaland-inspired celebration during the Champions League round-of-16 clash, saying it was Neymar’s idea to mock the young Borussia Dortmund striker.

PSG advanced to the quarterfinal stage courtesy of the 2-0 victory over the German side at the Parc des Princes on March 11. Neymar scored the opener, then mocked Haaland’s “Zen” celebration.

According to Marquinhos, Neymar’s club teammate and fellow Brazilian international, the derisive celebration aimed at the 19-year-old Norwegian goal machine was premeditated.

“He likes that,” Marquinhos told YouTube channel Desimpedidos, per ESPN UK. “Neymar is not just a football player, he is not afraid and always responds to provocations.

“After his goal, I asked him if he had taken everything out. He warned me, I told him to wait until the end of the match, but he told me to leave it and not to stop it,” Marquinhos added.

Following the victory, several PSG players replicated Haaland’s trademark celebration on the pitch before doing so again in the locker room.

It is understood that mocking the celebration of the teenage star stemmed from a social media post featuring Haaland that tagged the French capital and read “My city, not yours.” It was later determined that Haaland was not responsible for the Snapchat post and that the caption was fake.

Haaland recorded both goals in the first leg at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, celebrating the second marker with his meditative pose. Post-match, the former Red Bull Salzburg standout attributed the exhibition to his love of meditation.

UEFA warned PSG after the victory for “unsportsmanlike conduct,” though it’s not clear if that was a result of the on-pitch melee following Emre Can’s sending off or the Haaland-inspired celebrations.

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Soccer

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

  • Police arrest dozens of ticket-less fans at Wembley final

  • Dortmund boss Terzic lauds 'brilliant' Sancho after UCL defeat

  • Modric, Kroos among Madrid stars to make history with latest UCL triumph

  • Madrid's inevitability is a superpower no rival can match

  • Transfer window preview: 50 players who could move this summer

  • Vinicius Jr. named Champions League Player of the Season

“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
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