NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara didn't get the new deal he was hoping for, but he's done discussing his contract until next year.
Kamara didn't seem bothered by the lack of a new contract Sunday afternoon in the Saints' 47-10 win against the Carolina Panthers at the Caesars' Superdome. Kamara carried the ball 15 times for 83 yards and a touchdown, his highest rushing total since he had 107 yards in a 10-7 loss to the Panthers in the 2022 season finale.
He also caught all five of his targets for 27 yards. At one point, when Kamara briefly came out of the game, he got an ovation from the crowd for reaching his 50th game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
"I'm not worried about it. I'm here to play. I'm going to play. I'm going to perform. I don't got no illness. I don't got no mystery injury. I'm here. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to play, I'm going to perform, I'm going to be here with my teammates, coaches," Kamara said. "Outside of all that, I think the most important thing, I mean, I love this city right? I love the fans. I love these people. They support me. They've been supporting me for years now, right?
"For me, in my head, it would be kind of selfish to not go out there. I mean, I interact with so many people every day. These people love me like I'm family. I feel the same way and vice versa. I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't come out here and try to put on for those people that have been supporting me."
The five-year, $75 million contract extension Kamara signed in 2020 currently runs through the end of the 2025 season. However, his $29 million salary cap number and $22.4 million base salary in 2025 will likely force the team to address it before next season in some way.
Kamara's contract is also the only major deal the Saints did not restructure this season to free up salary cap space in 2024. Contract restructures free up money in the short term but make it more costly to part ways with a player long term if the team chooses to release them before their deal is up.
"It didn't get done. Like I said, it is what it is," Kamara said Sunday. "It may get done, it might not get done. I'm just focused on football right now, so I don't want to talk contract at all. I've never wanted to be the center of attention on anything, on any front right? I don't want to be sitting here trying to negotiate a contract while we're trying to win games, while we're trying to get to a Super Bowl. And I meant it when I said it the other day, we'll talk about it after the season."
Kamara, 29, pledged at the start of training camp to play out the season regardless of whether he and the Saints reach an extension. His contract has been a subject of discussion since he skipped the final practice of mandatory minicamp, a decision that appeared to take Saints coach Dennis Allen by surprise at the time.
"Everybody always says I'm a mystery, right? They don't know what I'm doing, what I'm thinking. But, saying it without saying it, I kind of made it pretty clear. ... Obviously I didn't come to OTAs. ... I was here for minicamp, left that last day and everybody was just kind of like holding their breath to see if I was going to show up to camp," Kamara said.
Kamara said he always intended to show up to camp and prepare for the season the same way he has in the past, even if everyone else wasn't sure.
"I already knew in my head, man, I was going to show up to camp and I'm going to work like I always do," Kamara said. "I'm going to perform like I always do, God willing. For the younger guys, those guys were happy I was there. They were like, 'Man, I ain't know you was going to be here.' I was like, 'I was always going to be here, bro. I got y'all.'"
Allen said he thought Kamara's performance against the Panthers was "awesome."
"I have a vision of what he can do in this offense," Allen said. "There's a lot of different things we can do with him."
The Saints scored on their first nine possessions and on every possession that featured quarterback Derek Carr and the first-team offense. The Saints didn't punt until the final five minutes, after backup quarterback Jake Haener came in to relieve Carr.
"I'm just Employee No. 41. I'm just showing up to work, man. I'm just showing up," Kamara said with a smile when asked about his role in the win.