The New Orleans Saints renegotiated quarterback Drew Brees' contract to drop his base salary in 2021 to the NFL minimum, a source told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
New Orleans will now carry roughly a $12-million cap charge for Brees until June rather than over $36 million, opening up nearly $24 million in cap space for next season, according to Pelissero.
Most likely accomplished this way: Brees agreed to drop his base salary for 2021 to the league minimum (the salary is moot with retirement on the horizon).
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 6, 2021
This allows the Saints the $24M in wiggle room (they'll need all of it) to utilize before June 1 in free agency. https://t.co/zBg4i4c1Uk
While many expect the 42-year-old to retire, Brees recently said he needs to "think about a lot of things" before making a decision.
The 13-time Pro Bowler posted a 9-3 record while completing 70.5% of his pass attempts for 2,942 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions in 2020. His 7.5 yards per attempt were his lowest since 2014.
