Asante Samuel’s move from the Eagles to the Falcons was in some respects more like a free-agent signing than a trade. Yes, the Eagles got a seventh-round draft pick in the deal, but what really needed to happen to get the deal completed was for Samuel and the Falcons to agree on a contract. Samuel said that wasn’t too hard, however, because Atlanta wants to play.
“It was not a big deal for me at all,” Samuel said of restructuring his contract. “That’s more something for my agent. He could talk to you about it. He did the deal. We just went over the numbers. I wanted to be a Falcon and they made it work.”
Samuel agreed to a three-year, $18.5 million contract with the Falcons. He had two years and $21.5 million left on his old contract with the Eagles. So he’s taking a pay cut for the privilege of playing in Atlanta. But the reality is the Eagles would have released him before paying the season if they hadn’t been able to trade him, so he never would have earned the remaining $21.5 million salary on his Eagles contract anyway.
So Samuel is satisfied with the money he’ll make in Atlanta, and confident in what kind of team the Falcons will have.
“I know the Falcons already have an excellent team, excellent coaches, schemes and talent. I’m just going to add to the bunch to try to get the one common goal. You know what I mean,” Samuel said. “I’m sure I’ll make a big impact.”