Saints fans are getting anxious. Drew Brees remains unsigned to a long term deal, and won’t be signing the franchise tender. But at least this story line has nothing to do with bounties.
In an effort to offer a little spark to what seems like stalled or incredibly slow negotiations, Saints fan, and Covington, LA, attorney, Tony Le Mon, has set up a Trust fund that fans can donate to in order to pay Drew whatever he wants.
Yeah. It’s a gimmick. Le Mon realizes that. He’s also sincere in his quest to offer the money to the man, even if all that money would go to the Drew Brees Dream Foundation charity–which is most likely. Ultimately, it would be for Brees to do whatever he sees fit, but if he doesn’t accept it, the full amount will be donated to the charity. Le Mon started the trust with a personal donation of $500, and is offering fans the opportunity to chip in at FansStepUp.com. Ultimately, Le Mon wants the ownership and management to understand the desire of their fan base, who have largely been ignored during this process. People who understand football, realize that an absurdly large contract could handcuff the team when attempting to bring in future talent, but in the same breath you could argue that big time talent, especially veterans hoping for a shot within the next 5 to 6 years, would be willing to take a little less to be on the field with Drew Brees.
One could argue that there has never been a greater ambassador for the city of New Orleans. His partnership with (presently suspended) head coach Sean Payton has made the franchise relevant for the first time in its history. Forget past playoff appearances. We’re talking annual legitimacy. Mickey Loomis and Tom Benson need to pony up and offer the dough. But if they don’t…perhaps Tony Le Mon is the guy to get the deal done.
