Golden Tate is hoping to get paid . . . and hoping to get paid by the Lions.
The receiver is scheduled to make a base salary of $7 million in the final year of the five-year, $31 million contract he signed with the Lions in free agency in 2014.
The sides have had no “substantive contract talks,” Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports, with the Lions indicating to Tate and Ziggy Ansah they first want to see how the players fit in under new coach Matt Patricia.
Tate understands.
“Right now I’m just kind of focusing on getting to know coach Patricia and showing up to work ready to work every day so he gets a feel for my type of personality, what I’m going to bring to this team,” Tate told Birkett. “I’m trying not to worry about it too much. Obviously, we all know that I’d love to get something done, but I go into each year just trying to prove myself because there’s a new batch of guys that are probably coming in to try to take my job.”
Tate, 29, has at least 90 catches in four consecutive seasons and 1,000-yard seasons three years in a row. He made 92 receptions for 1,003 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Jarvis Landry’s five-year, $75 million deal with the Browns reset the market for receivers, which has Tate eager to see what kind of deal he will find either from the Lions or in free agency next March.
“The wide receiver market is very high right now, and it wasn’t very high when I came out when I was in free agency the first time, unfortunately,” Tate said. “It’s pretty exciting. It’s almost like, with these guys that are signing their first big deal, it’s been set. I would have never thought receivers today would be getting paid I guess what quarterbacks were getting paid just four years ago.”