Bush, Saints agree to six-year, $51 million contract

	Reggie Bush will get an estimated $26.2 million in guaranteed money, $300,000 less than No. 1 pick Mario Williams. AP
	RELATED • KING: Checking in from Saints camp

JACKSON, Miss. -- It figures that in this internet and text-message age, the news of the Saints' signing of first-round pick Reggie Bush -- the holdout that was supposed to end all holdouts in the 2006 draft class -- would come electronically, shortly before 11 p.m. ET Saturday.

"Agreed in principle,'' read a text message from one of the negotiators in the deal. "Details tomorrow.''

Bush, the running back from USC who was chosen second overall in the April draft, agreed to an estimated six-year, $51 million deal with the Saints soon after the team finished their second day of training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson Saturday evening. It's likely that Bush will fly from Los Angeles, where he has been monitoring negotiations, to the Mississippi capital Sunday and practice for the first time with the Saints on Monday at 8:50 a.m. CT.

The deal became inevitable Saturday morning. That's when the Saints and agent Joel Segal got exact terms of the six-year, $48 million contract signed by the third pick in the draft, quarterback Vince Young, with Tennessee. The deal included not-likely-to-be-earned incentives that pushed the deal to $57.79 million. But the main figure in the deal was the guaranteed money -- $25.74 million. Rookie contracts in the NFL have been focused solely on guaranteed money, and the $25.74 million figure gave the Saints a low boundary to work with. The first pick in the draft, Houston defensive end Mario Williams from North Carolina State, got $26.5 million in guaranteed money.

"Once Young's deal got done and we found out exactly what it was,'' said a Saints source, "we could slot Reggie between the two contracts. Then it was easy.''

New Orleans offered an estimated $26.2 million in guaranteed money, which led to the deal getting done. It's not certain that $26.2 is the exact guaranteed figure, but it's close ... close enough for the two sides to reach agreement in principle Saturday night.

Earlier Saturday, Saints players and coach Sean Payton pooh-poohed the effect of a short holdout by Bush on the team's 2006 fate. "I don't anticipate it will last very long,'' Payton said Saturday morning. "He should be here in plenty of time to get this offense down.''

"I will help him as much as he wants to be helped,'' said incumbent back Deuce McAllister on Saturday afternoon. "He's going to be a special player, and I think we'll work well together.''

Payton said he expected Bush to get significant playing time on rushing downs and on third-down passing plays. In addition, Sush will return punts, though not every punt.

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