METAIRIE, La. – In the latest signal that Drew Brees is preparing to retire after 20 seasons, New Orleans Saints defender has agreed to reduce his 2021 salary from $ 25 million to a veterans minimum of $ 1.075 million, he confirmed an ESPN source on Friday.
The move will release nearly $ 24 million in salary cap space for a Saints team that was designed to start off-season with nearly $ 100 million over the ceiling.
The deal was first reported by Over The Cap.
Brees, 42, has not yet announced whether he officially intends to retire. But this move has been long overdue for months. Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday he expects an announcement about Brees’ future plans in a week or two.
Brees and Saints would then wait until after June 1 to officially file their retirement documents so they could distribute the remaining salary costs over the next two years. Brees is scheduled to total $ 36.15 million against the ceiling this season, with another $ 11.5 million “dead money” hit scheduled to be considered against the 2022 salary cap from previous signing bonuses .
Now, he will only calculate $ 12,225 million against the ceiling by June 1 – which would be reduced to $ 11.15 million after he officially retires. He would add another $ 11.5 million to next year’s ceiling in this scenario for a total of $ 22.65 million in dead money.
If Brees retires, he will emerge as the all-time NFL leader in the career passing courts (80,358) and will rank second in all touchdown steps (571) and completion percentage (67.7%).