Tyrann Mathieu Would’ve Taken Pay Cut to Continue Community Work in New Orleans; 2-Year Deal Was a Bonus

The New Orleans Saints signed safety Tyrann Mathieu to a 2-year, $13 million deal Thursday according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Mathieu has been in the league since 2013 when he was selected in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals. He has been with the New Orleans Saints since 2022 and has seen some of his most productive years with them.

Mathieu is known for the work he does in the New Orleans community. He has a connection with the area as he went to high school at St. Augustine in New Orleans and he played for the LSU Tigers in his college days.

Tyrann Mathieu would’ve taken a pay cut to stay with the New Orleans Saints

Nick Underhill of NOF Network reported that Tyrann Mathieu would’ve taken a pay cut to stay and continue to do community work in the New Orleans area and that the second year on his contract is an added bonus.

Tyrann said he would have been willing to just take a straight pay cut to stay with the Saints and keep doing his work in the community. But adding the second year was a major benefit

— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 7, 2024

Underhill also reported that Mathieu hopes he can retire in the city of New Orleans, although he does want to win more.

Tyrann Mathieu hopes to be able to retire here. But says he views this as more a chance to win after two “underwhelming” years.

— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 7, 2024

Tyrann Mathieu: “I’m from here. It’s a blessing to play here.”

— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 7, 2024

Mathieu’s contract features $10 million in guaranteed money. He posted a career-high in tackles in his first year with the Saints in 2022 (91 total tackles). Mathieu has amassed seven interceptions in the two years he’s spent in New Orleans. He hasn’t missed a single game in those two years.

Throughout his lengthy career, Mathieu has 33 interceptions, which is second among all active NFL safeties. His fourth interception returned for a touchdown in 2023 putting him in the top 20 all-time for touchdown returns by NFL safeties.

New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathie started the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation

Tyrann Mathieu’s largest impact on the New Orleans community comes from the foundation he started, which is called the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation. The mission of the foundation on the website is as follows:

Tyrann established his foundation to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities and resources to achieve their dreams in his hometown of New Orleans.

One event the foundation hosted was when Mathieu teamed up with Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers for a fundraising event. Any mention of the fundraiser when placing an order at the fast food restaurant resulted in a 15% donation to the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation.

Tyrann Mathieu hosts fundraiser event at Raising Cane’s in Metairie https://t.co/xW0VVt198X pic.twitter.com/Epm3AORSpM

— New Orleans Saints (@nworleanssaints) August 3, 2023

Mathieu also recruited his teammates to help hand out turkeys and Thanksgiving meals to local families in an event they call “Tyrann’s Turkeys.” Mathieu provided turkeys for 350 total families in affiliation with the Salvation Army.

Mathieu’s desire to continue charity work in his hometown played a large part in the fact that he decided to re-sign with the New Orleans Saints.

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