NEW ORLEANS, LA (The Spread) – For franchise designation purposes, Jimmy Graham is officially a tight end.
Arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled on Wednesday that Graham is a tight end despite lining up wide on 67 percent of his snaps last year. He was drafted as a tight end, goes to tight end meetings and called himself a tight end on his Twitter bio, so it was enough for Burbank to label him a NFL.
What this means is that the Saints won the arbitration case and will pay Graham $7.035 million for his one-year tender. Had Graham won the case, he would have been paid $12.312 million, which is the price for a receiver that is slapped with the franchise tag. The two sides also still have until July 15 to agree to a long-term deal.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Saints’ 2015 Super Bowl odds are currently listed at 14/1. They’re also 8/1 to win their conference next season and are 1/1 favorites to win the NFC South Division in 2014. The team’s over/under has been set at 9.5 for number of wins in the 2014 regular season.
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