Saints bet big on Olave, join the Ohio State WR gold rush

For most of training camp, Chris Olave was on the sideline in street clothes, not because of injury but because he wanted a new deal. Reports surfaced that he was skipping team drills entirely while his camp worked the phones with the Saints front office.

That hold-in didn't drag on long. Adam Schefter broke the news that New Orleans was signing Olave to a four-year extension worth up to $132 million, including $90 million guaranteed, with his agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus confirming the numbers to ESPN.

The money makes sense when you look at what Olave just did on the field. He posted career highs across the board in 2025 — 100 catches, 1,163 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns — finally stringing together a full, healthy season after a career marked by concussion trouble. Olave suffered two separate concussions during the 2024 campaign alone, missing nine games and landing on IR, so proving durability was as much a part of this negotiation as the stat line.

Zoom out and this deal is part of a much bigger trend. Schefter laid out the last two offseasons of Ohio State receiver paydays, and it's staggering: Jaxon Smith-Njigba got 4 years and $168.6 million, Olave's $132 million slots in right behind him, Garrett Wilson got 4 years and $130 million, and Terry McLaurin got 3 years and $97 million. Four different Buckeyes wideouts, four nine-figure deals, all within two offseasons — the Ohio State receiver factory has become the surest bet in the NFL draft.

The Saints, meanwhile, are locking in a No. 11 overall pick from the 2022 draft as their offensive centerpiece for the rest of the decade, betting that last year's health and production were the real Olave and not an outlier. It's the richest receiver commitment the franchise has handed out since Michael Thomas, and it comes with real risk given the concussion history — but after watching him go for 100/1,163/9 in a contract year, New Orleans clearly decided the talent was worth the gamble.

With Olave signed, the Saints' offseason contract sweep continues to take shape — Grant Delpit got his extension the same week — while running backs like Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are still holding out around the league for deals of their own. Expect the receiver market to keep climbing as this Ohio State class resets the scale for every wideout behind them.