Lions Tight End Sam LaPorta on Contract Talks: Team Not Showing the Love
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta of Detroit, Michigan vented his frustration on October 21 over the lack of progress in his bid for a contract extension. The 25-year-old said on the Pardon My Take podcast that aired that day that the combination of getting his heartstrings twisted and playing a violent sport sucks, and that it is disappointing to go out every week bearing the risk of getting hurt. He noted that last season he missed eight games after sustaining a herniated disc that required surgery: around Week 9, Week 10 last year, he said, he broke his back for this team, and this year he is playing well but the team is not showing the love.
LaPorta is in the final season of his four-year, $9.47 million rookie deal and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season; the Lions would have the franchise tag at their disposal. He has 27 catches for 316 yards and three touchdowns in five games, all starts, this season, including catching all five passes thrown his way for 88 yards, with a 38-yard touchdown, in the October 11 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2023 draft out of Iowa, he was named second-team All-Pro as a rookie. He said he will continue to play at a high level, and if in three months he no longer gets to wear the Honolulu blue for the Lions, he will go get paid somewhere else.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：底特律雄狮近端锋 Sam LaPorta 本人照（大学时期效力爱荷华大学鹰眼队、身穿 84 号球衣）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，作者 Maize & Blue Nation。
