Receiver DeAndre Hopkins is free to sign with anyone. But the contract won’t be anywhere close to free.
As one source explained it to PFT on Saturday morning, Hopkins currently expects to secure a significant contract on the open market. The problem, however, is that no one wanted to trade for his prior deal, which paid less than $20 million this year.
Early in the process, there was a belief that Hopkins would want an adjustment that replaced the back end of his existing contract, which had two years remaining.
There’s another complication. Although Hopkins said during an early March appearance with Pat McAfee that Hopkins has hired an agent for this next phase of his career, NFL Players Association records reveal that he is unrepresented.
Per multiple sources, the notorious Saint Omni is “running the show” for Hopkins. At least one viable contender for Hopkins’s services is leery about dealing with Omni. And for good reason. Last year, the NFL specifically warned all teams not to deal with Omni or any other non-certified agent in connection with linebacker Roquan Smith.
Although Omni has managed to work in the shadows, or more conspicuously, on behalf of players like Smith and Texans tackle Laremy Tunsil, if a team that otherwise would be aggressively pursuing Hopkins opts to back away because it’s not comfortable dealing with Omni, that necessarily limits the player’s potential options.
Thus, between the player’s expectations and unofficial representation, it might not be as simple and as seamless as it would seem for Hopkins to land on a new team.
