Alvin Kamara's Future With Saints Unclear as $14 Million Cap Decision Looms
June 1 is one of the most important dates on the NFL calendar.
Any player released or traded after June 1 will have his dead cap money spread over two seasons instead of being absorbed all at once in the current year. That is a massive deal. When a team designates a player as a post-June 1 cut, it can spread the dead cap money over two years instead of taking the full hit at once.
For trades specifically, the trade must actually be processed after June 1, meaning teams cannot trade a player in April and simply designate it as a post-June 1 move. You have to wait.
And for months, one of the most talked-about names has been New Orleans Saints star running back Alvin Kamara.
On Sunday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler broke down the latest on the Kamara situation.
"The team can save about $14 million after June 1 on the salary cap. He's due about $11.5 million, including $3 million guaranteed. So something has to come to a head," Fowler said.
"I'm told that there hasn't been a lot of traction yet on the Saints' direction with Kamara, but there is some interest in potentially coming back there. Maybe they can do a revised deal. Either way, that should heat up close to that deadline."
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Since 2017, Alvin Kamara has been the Saints’ best offensive player. But 2025 was brutal. Kamara missed six games due to injury and posted a career-low 3.6 yards per carry.
Then, this spring, New Orleans sent the clearest signal yet, signing Travis Etienne Jr. to a four-year, $52 million contract in free agency, making him one of the highest-paid backs in the league.
Suddenly, Kamara, who signed a two-year, $24.5 million extension in October 2024 and carries a $10.4 million cap number in the final year of that deal, looked like an unnecessary expense for a team headed in a new direction.
GM Mickey Loomis didn’t help. When asked about Kamara’s future in New Orleans, Loomis was vague, saying only that the team was still trying to work through things roster-wise.
Kamara’s trade market has since run cold as well. Turns out finding a suitor willing to take on an aging back entering his age-31 season, coming off an MCL sprain and a career-low performance, has proven to be a tall order.
Kamara, meanwhile, has shown no signs of even wanting to leave. He recently appeared on former teammate Terron Armstead’s podcast “The Set,” saying he’s been training in Miami and hinting he plans to play in 2026 with the Saints.
He even shut down backfield drama with Etienne, saying, “I couldn’t be happier. He got paid, and we got help in the backfield. I’m cool with it.”
He also invoked one of the Saints’ most iconic eras, referencing his legendary partnership with Mark Ingram. “I think that’s what we’re trying to find. Me and Mark set the bar very high. That’s what efficiency looks like on a very high level. I’m 100 percent for it.”
That doesn’t sound like a guy angling for a trade or a way out.
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If the Saints can’t find a trade partner willing to take on his contract, a post-June 1 release or restructure becomes the only logical exit strategy. But cutting him purely loses a franchise icon for almost nothing, making a revised deal the cleanest solution for both sides.
Kamara takes a pay cut, the organization keeps a Saints legend in a complementary role alongside Etienne, and New Orleans’ backfield suddenly becomes one of the most dynamic in football.
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 3:45 PM.