Taysom Hill Lands Big Payday In Restructured Contract From New Orleans Saints

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Moments after Drew Brees’ retirement became official; news broke that the New Orleans Saints restructured the contract for former BYU star Taysom Hill. It’s the type of restructured deal for those following the money trail that could indicate Taysom Hill as the heir apparent to Brees in the Big Easy.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints are restructuring Taysom Hill’s contract to a 4-year, $140 million contract extension. The one catch is that all of the years are voidable, according to Schefter. So Hill gets the type of money that warrants QB1 status, but he has to perform to maintain the job.

Saints are restructuring QB Taysom Hill’s contract to create cap room. Details are great: it’s a 4-year, $140 million contract extension – but all years are voidable and it’s a mechanism to free up cap space this year, per source. It saves Saints over $7.5M against cap this year.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2021

This is a big opportunity for Taysom Hill to achieve his goal of becoming a starting quarterback in the NFL. Since he entered the league in 2017, Hill has always made it clear that was his goal. When many around the football world asked, why doesn’t he stay a “gadget player” or switch to tight end? Hill has remained focused on becoming a starting quarterback while contributing to the Saints at a high level in his “F-Position” role.

The Saints are still reportedly working on a deal for Jameis Winston, who NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says is the “likely starter” for New Orleans in 2021.

Taysom Hill: New Orleans Saints QB1?

Saints head coach Sean Payton has stated on numerous occasions that he views Taysom Hill as a future starting quarterback in the NFL. Last year, when Drew Brees went down with an injury, many in the NFL media assumed Saints would turn to Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback in replace of the future Hall of Famer. Instead, Payton stuck to his belief in Hill and made him the starting quarterback in relief of Brees.

Hill started in four games at quarterback last season and led the Saints to a 3-1 record in those games. He passed for 834 yards and rushed for an additional 209 showcasing the dual-threat ability that makes him one of the NFL’s most versatile athletes.

If Taysom Hill starts in week one of the 2021 New Orleans Saints, he could become the first former BYU quarterback to open a season as a starter since Steve Young in 1999.

In four years with the Saints, Hill has passed for 1,047 yards, four touchdowns, and thrown three interceptions while completing 70 percent of his passes.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.