The New Orleans Saints are locking up an integral part of the offseason before starting the 2026-27 NFL season. The team is awarding Chris Olave with a multi-year extension.
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Olave, who had been set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, will now stay with the team for the next four seasons after agreeing to a deal worth $124 million. Though this number can go up to $132 million.
This contract extension follows almost a full year of negotiations between the Saints and Olave, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. It also followed a minor "hold-in" on Olave's part. He showed up for training camp, but he did not take part in team drills.
"I think the biggest thing is there's the business side and there's the football side obviously. And we know sometimes those two overlap. It's inevitable. And I think communication is the key," Saints coach Kellen Moore said on Thursday. "As long as we all communicate and we're all on the same page.
"I think we always have to remind ourselves, everyone has the same goal. Everyone's shooting for the same things. It's just sometimes the business side takes a little bit of a lead on this for a matter of time and we'll work through that."
A standout for Ohio State University, Olave has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in three of his first four seasons. He only played in eight games in 2024. He is the third player in team history to have consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career. He joined Marques Colston (2006) and Michael Thomas (2016).
He has caught 19 touchdowns, including a career-high nine last season. He also set a career-best mark in 2025 by catching 100 passes. This made him the second player in team history to catch 100 passes in a single season. Thomas had at least 100 receptions in 2017-19.
Now that the extension is in place, Olave will continue to serve as a focal point of the Saints offense while catching passes from second-year quarterback Tyler Shough.
