New Orleans Saints legendary quarterback, and future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees gave his strongest indication that he plans to retire when he significantly reduced his salary in 2021, according to ESPN’s Mike Triplett.
Brees reduced his salary from $25 million to the veterans minimum of $1.075 which frees up close to $24 million in salary-cap space for the Saints, who were projected to begin the offseason over the cap by nearly $100 million.
Brees, 42, has not formally announced his retirement, but this move is an indicator that an official announcement could be on the way in the near future. Saints head coach Sean Payton said that he expects an announcement regarding Brees’ future within the next week or two.
Brees was scheduled to count $36.15 million against the cap for the 2021 season, and the Saints would have a dead money hit of $11.5 million against their cap for the 2022 season, due to previous signing bonuses.
Brees will count just $12.225 million against the cap until June 1st, and if he does retire that number will drop to $11.15 million. Brees would still count another $11.5 million against the cap next season with a dead money hit of $22.65 million.
