Although the Saints and Drew Brees haven’t made progress yet in contract talks, Saints owner Tom Benson believes progress is coming.
At a press conference today to announce that he purchased the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, Benson said he spoke with Brees today and that he thinks the team and its star quarterback are on the same page and not far apart in their expectations for a long-term contract.
“I talked to Drew Brees this morning, personally, and told him what was going on and he was very excited about it,” Benson said. “He’s due in next week and we’re close. You know how those things work, and it just takes a little more time, a little patience and we’ve got a few other things going on with the draft and players that’s keeping us real busy. We haven’t forgotten about him. We work on it every day. As I told you, I talked to him personally this morning. He felt very good about us getting involved with this club, with the Hornets. I think that [contract] will be done shortly.”
Even if they haven’t made progress yet, if Benson wants to get the deal done it’s as simple as picking up the phone and telling Brees he’ll get what he’s asking for. With all the negative P.R. the Saints have taken in the wake of the bounty scandal, some positive publicity would be a good thing for Benson to have right now. And the best way to do that is to do what it takes to move a deal with his best and most popular player from “close” to “done.”
