Gay inks deal with Saints and gets closer to home

09:55 AM EST on Monday, March 3, 2008
By SHALISE MANZA YOUNGJournal Sports Writer

As much as he wanted to stay with the New England Patriots, the team that gave him a chance to play and the region he came to adopt, when Randall Gay got the chance to go back home, he went for it.
Yesterday, the cornerback signed with the New Orleans Saints, who play about 90 miles from Gay’s hometown of Brusly, La.
Gay received a four-year deal from the Saints that could be worth as much as $17.8 million — $6.9 million of that is guaranteed.
“It’s bittersweet,” agent Albert Elias said last night. “He’s leaving a team that helped him get his shot, that helped him get started. So he’s sad one way, but in the other way, he’s going to the team he watched growing up as a kid.”
When negotiations with the Patriots stalled and Gay and Elias decided to test free agency, Gay stressed to Elias that he wanted to keep New England in play, keeping the relationship positive on the off-chance that Gay could rejoin the team down the road.
“It was business, and that’s part of the NFL. He’ll miss New England, definitely, but the Saints gave him financial security and the chance to compete for a starting spot,” Elias said. “No matter what, he has a role there.”
The small town of Brusly — population 2,020 and 2.2 square miles — is quite proud of their native son. Gay has been honored by the town on at least two occasions: before playing with the LSU Tigers in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, he had his own day, and after his rookie season, when he won Super Bowl XXXIX with New England, he was given a key to the town.