Devonta Freeman wants Falcons to pay him what he deserves so he can put his sisters through college

Devonta Freeman turned in a top 10 rushing performance last season, but his current salary is similar to the contracts of players like Bishop Sankey and Knile Davis. Freeman would like a new deal, one that compensates him fairly for his impact on the field, but he has no imminent plans to leave the Falcons.

“I definitely know I’m going to be playing for the Atlanta Falcons,” Freeman told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure.

During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Freeman’s agent, Kristin Campbell, said it was time for Freeman to be paid like an elite back. Freeman, a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft, is heading into the final season of a four-year, $2.7 million contract.

His per-year average of $676,106 is far lower than the $6.5 million per year Lamar Miller is earning, or even the $4 million per season Mark Ingram is bringing home. Freeman outperformed both on the ground last season with his 1,079-yard, 11-touchdown performance. He added 462 yards and two touchdowns through the air, too.

Freeman, a two-time Pro Bowler, said he didn’t just want to be paid because he believes his performance justifies it. He wants to help his four younger sisters get an education.

“I want to pay for all of them to go to college,” Freeman said, via McClure. “Where I come from, school wasn’t as fun growing up. I want to try and show them and teach them that school is fun, if you do it the right way, if you go to school with a purpose.”

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said that a new deal for Freeman isn’t imminent. Don’t expect it to happen during this free agency period.

“That’s something that will be taken care of in due time,” Dimitroff said, via the team’s official website. “It’s not going to be a contentious issue in my mind. I think it’s going to be one that’s going to be fairly quick. We know what the market is and we’re confident that we can get something done — again, when the time is right.”

Freeman sounds content to wait for now.

”On our end, we’re just patient,” Freeman said. “... I’m definitely doing this all to take care of my family and help others and even just put my family in a better situation. It’s nothing greedy or to be super-thirsty like, ‘I need this, I need that.’ I don’t play the game of football for the money. I play the game of football for the love.”

One thing Freeman and Dimitroff agree upon for certain is that a trade isn’t happening. Freeman plans to stay in Atlanta, and Dimitroff called the idea of a trade “ridiculous.”

”We would never trade him,” Dimitroff said.

Freeman was a key component of the Falcons’ top-scoring offense in 2016, and he’s likely to be a fixture in Atlanta for years to come.