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K'Lavon Chaisson declined a multi-year contract from the New Orleans Saints to sign a one-year, $11 million deal with the Washington Commanders. He aims for a competitive season and greater opportunities with the Commanders.
The Washington Commanders were relatively active early in 2026 free agency, bringing in some new faces and letting a few hit the market. One of their biggest goals this offseason was to get younger and faster on defense, where the team truly struggled in 2025 largely due to injuries. To that end, Adam Peters brought in Odafe Oweh, Leo Chenal, and K'Lavon Chaisson and drafted accordingly.
Chaisson is a six-year NFL veteran, but he's only 26 years old. He spent his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, one with the Las Vegas Raiders, and last season he spent with the New England Patriots. Chaisson had offers from multiple teams during free agency, and he's now revealed that he turned down a higher-paying contract to sign with the Commanders.
On his YouTube page, Chaisson shared a video detailing how things went down for him during free agency, including how the Commanders welcomed him with "open arms." Prior to what the clip above shows, Chaisson talks on the phone with someone about the New Orleans Saints' offer of three years for $13 million a year, and how the Commanders offered him a one-year deal worth $11 million. The person he's speaking with asks what he's thinking.
Chaisson believed the Commanders offered a better chance to be competitive and have playoff opportunities compared to the Saints.
The Saints offered Chaisson a three-year deal worth $13 million per year, while the Commanders provided a one-year deal worth $11 million.
Before joining the Commanders, Chaisson played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, and New England Patriots.
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"I'm not gonna lie, I think the Commanders one, only because I feel like they're competitive, so we're gonna be in some type of playoff race. I'm going to have more opportunities to be ahead of the game. I don't know about the Saints, I don't know what their offense looks like," Chaisson replies. The two continue to discuss the Saints and how guaranteed money is nice, but that's not everything, and Chaisson always bets on himself.
He bet on himself again when he signed with the Commanders, opting to take less money for a chance to be part of a playoff contention team. A lot of NFL players go where the money is; it's all about how much they can make and not what they can do for the team. Sure, there's overlap; players often consider what they can do for a team, but their main priority is padding their pockets.
Chaisson is a guy who prioritizes winning over anything else. Does he consider his impact on a team? Absolutely, he wouldn't sign somewhere without considering all aspects. Every athlete at every level wants to win. It doesn't matter if they're giving kids participation trophies; those kids still want to win. And for some, the desire to win and be successful in your craft matters more than how much money you make along the way.
K'Lavon Chaisson was a great addition to this Commanders' defense, and the fact that he chose to come to Washington for less money than he could have gotten elsewhere shows that he values hard work and winning more than how much money he can get. That kind of attitude is what will make this defense successful in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: K'Lavon Chaisson took less money in free agency