NFL insider says Saints want more than reported for Sean Payton

An NFL insider said that the Saints want more than the draft pick compensation that was previously reported in exchange for Sean Payton’s rights.

The New Orleans Saints can completely change the trajectory of their franchise, but unfortunately, part of the picture is out of their hands. Right now, the Saints are going into the offseason in a bad way. They need more talent but don’t have a first-round draft pick since they traded it away.

Sean Payton, who retired at the end of last season, is still under contract with the Saints. He’s open enough to the idea of returning to the NFL to be taking interviews, which is good news for New Orleans because they have the right to ask for compensation in return for his rights or deny to release his rights to whatever team seeks to hire him.

Essentially, it’ll be a coaching trade for whatever team hires Payton, if any team does.

A price was previously reported on Payton, but evidently, that price was wrong. We now know a little bit more.

Saints want even more than a mid-to-late first-round pick for Sean Payton’s rights

During NBC’s pregame show for Jaguars vs Chiefs, Mike Florio provided some updates on NFL coaching interviews. He reported on Payton and the Saints desired value for his rights:

"“Even though Payton said the Saints who still hold his contractual rights want a mid-to-late first-round pick in the event he goes to another team, I’m told the Saints want more than that, and they’ll definitely want more if he goes to the Panthers who play in the same division as the New Orleans Saints.”"

That price was revealed by Sean Payton himself earlier this week. And, let’s be honest, that price felt a little bit low at the time. Sean Payton is the most coveted coaching option out there right now, and some of these teams have an edict to do whatever they can to improve. Payton would go a long way in that regard.

The Panthers aspect is even less surprising. Frankly, the Saints should only allow the Panthers in on the conversation to help drive the bidding upward. Letting Payton walk to another team in the division is a surefire way to make sure you’ll have at least one tough team to beat every year.

Keep in mind, Payton could simply continue with his broadcasting gig, too, if he wants to.