Drew Brees reworks contract to help Saints ahead of retirement

Drew Brees has given the New Orleans Saints a valuable parting gift ahead of his expected retirement.

Brees recently renegotiated his Saints contract to the league minimum for 2021. That will allow the team to carry him on the roster past June 1 and would spread out the salary cap impact upon his retirement.

New Orleans will now carry a roughly $12 million cap charge for Brees until June, rather than over $36 million. Another $11.5M would hit the 2022 cap. Brees has not yet confirmed he’s retiring, but this lays the groundwork to spread the cap impact. https://t.co/QMW7duaEk2

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 6, 2021

Brees has not officially announced his retirement yet. However, it’s been widely reported that he will, and his actions after the Saints’ playoff exit provided further evidence of that.

While this is pretty straightforward administrative business, it’s important in that it shows that Brees is moving ahead with his plans to retire. He’s also making it easier for the Saints to have roster flexibility when he does, which makes sense given how tightly knit he is with the city and organization.