Drew Brees' extension looks like a win for the Saints -- Underhill (1 Viewer)

[HouseCall]

Drew signed it; but I seriously doubt he is happy. The organization and a portion of the fan base failed to respect and support him.

We will be going through another year and offseason just like this past one, since he was effectively extended for a single year. We'll see if Drew makes a similar decision next year.

I don't know, man.

He just signed his name and made 44 million dollars for the next two years.

He knows the only way he has a shot of finishing his career like an Elway or Peyton is to keep the team coffers flush with enough cash to pursue quality free agents and to re-sign quality teammates.

He also knows that if he keeps playing at a high level (which he definitely believes he can) he'll have an opportunity to sign his name again for another 44-50 million dollars for another couple of years.

He's content in New Orleans. His children were born here. He's spent the last ten years becoming a legend here. He is literally one of the, if not the, most popular people in the state and possibly the entire gulf coast.

I truly believe he wants to retire a Saint. The Saints didn't let him walk. The came to the table and worked out a mutually beneficial deal.

The Saints get cap relief and Brees gets a team that can go after talent to put around him.

They both want to win a Super Bowl and this deal was the best chance for both of them to achieve that.

 

[Boiler Jim]

According to overthecap.com who got their numbers from Andrew Brandt the new deal breaks down like this.

Brees got a new $30 mil signing bonus.

2016: $1 mil salary, $10 mil from prior bonus's, $6 mil from the new bonus, and $250k from a workout bonus for a total 2016 cap hit of $17.25 mil.

2017 $13 mil salary and $6 mil prorated bonus for a cap hit of $19 mil.

2018 is the year the deal voids so if they allow it to happen the remaining $18 mil pro-ration accelerates to that years cap.

Thanks, Merl! I was looking for this information.



Assuming this is correct, Drew will receive:

$31.25m this year. His Salary will be $1 million -- This is exactly the same situation (big bonus and $1m in Salary) as Brady's contract 3 or four years ago. For those of you who pouted that "Drew should be more like Tom -- Tom only costs his team $1 million. Drew is SO greedy." You got your wish.

$13.25m next year -- assuming a roster bonus of a quarter million and no new signing. This is FAR below what your average QB gets in salary these days, and Drew is far above the average QB. If there is no new signing in 2017, Drew's tenure as a Saint is over.

Cap and Dead Money:

Had Drew and the Saints not come to terms, He would have left the organization at the end of this year and there would have been NO dead money, No cap hit. This year his cap impact would have been $30 million ($20 million in Salary and $10 in amortization of the bonus given 5 years ago.) The Saints had positioned themselves to make it through this year from a cap perspective and could have created 5-10 million more in cap space working with other team members, should it have become necessary.

Under the new deal we know his Cap hit will be 17.25 in 2016 and 19 in 2018.

It's a no-cut, no-trade deal, so the Saints can't release Drew in 2017, but if Drew decides to retire, the Cap hit for 2017 will be 24 million. (It would have been zero with no new contract.)

If Drew leaves in 2018 (he and the Saints don't sign a new deal), the cap hit will be $18 million PLUS the price of his replacement -- so probably between $35 and $45 million.

 

[jmalon3]

Holder's article says the 2018-2020 voidable years are at the mercy of the team. Meaning if they still want him they can keep him. That's at least how I have interpreted it. I've also read that they are automatically voided. So which one is it?

His cap hit if released in 2018 is 18million (according to sportrac.com)

 

[BoNcHiE]

Holder's article says the 2018-2020 voidable years are at the mercy of the team. Meaning if they still want him they can keep him. That's at least how I have interpreted it. I've also read that they are automatically voided. So which one is it?

His cap hit if released in 2018 is 18million (according to sportrac.com)

They are almost assuredly automatically voided. Noway did Drew agree to a deal that basically gives him nothing else guaranteed the last three years.

What that (again, I'm not Loomis but how I read it) probably means is that the void date is automatic and serves as a deadline to re-negotiate the final year's guarantees.

 

[superchuck500]

They are almost assuredly automatically voided. Noway did Drew agree to a deal that basically gives him nothing else guaranteed the last three years.

What that (again, I'm not Loomis but how I read it) probably means is that the void date is automatic and serves as a deadline to re-negotiate the final year's guarantees.

It's not quite that simple. His full salary becomes guaranteed in years three, four, and five, respectively, if he is on the roster for the beginning of the season for each of those years. I don't know what the scheduled salaries are for those years under this deal but it's not accurate to say that he wouldn't play without guaranteed money. I believe his previous contract paid out all of the guaranteed money in the first three of five years. So the last two he wasn't playing with a guarantee - but the contract has a scheduled salary and as long as he's on the team for week 1, it's fully guaranteed for the season.

Drew is a smart businessman and that's why he said the 'deadline' to get a new deal done was this week - because this weekend his $30M scheduled salary would have been fully owed by the Saints. That's a huge payday for one year and the roster rule for vested veterans gave him leverage. So it isn't necessarily a presumption that the team will void the final three years of this new deal - we need to see what those years call for him to be paid. But if he's still performing, they can to continue under that contract even thigh the guaranteed money has already been paid.

But the no-trade and no franchise tag clauses give Drew the comfort of knowing that he will either be playing for the Saints or have full control of his status, whether that be to play for the Saints, retire, or as an unrestricted free agent.

I expect we will try to draft QB (or acquire a strong young prospect) and let Drew's play determine what the transition schedule ends up being.

 

[BoNcHiE]

The question is if he will be willing to then play on a year by year, guaranteed basis with nothing beyond in case of injury.

And does the contract leave that decision in the Saints' hands or both?

 

[Saint_Ward]

It's not quite that simple. His full salary becomes guaranteed in years three, four, and five, respectively, if he is on the roster for the beginning of the season for each of those years. I don't know what the scheduled salaries are for those years under this deal but it's not accurate to say that he wouldn't play without guaranteed money. I believe his previous contract paid out all of the guaranteed money in the first three of five years. So the last two he wasn't playing with a guarantee - but the contract has a scheduled salary and as long as he's on the team for week 1, it's fully guaranteed for the season.

Drew is a smart businessman and that's why he said the 'deadline' to get a new deal done was this week - because this weekend his $30M scheduled salary would have been fully owed by the Saints. That's a huge payday for one year and the roster rule for vested veterans gave him leverage. So it isn't necessarily a presumption that the team will void the final three years of this new deal - we need to see what those years call for him to be paid. But if he's still performing, they can to continue under that contract even thigh the guaranteed money has already been paid.

But the no-trade and no franchise tag clauses give Drew the comfort of knowing that he will either be playing for the Saints or have full control of his status, whether that be to play for the Saints, retire, or as an unrestricted free agent.

I expect we will try to draft QB (or acquire a strong young prospect) and let Drew's play determine what the transition schedule ends up being.

I haven't caught up on the full details yet. But one correction. Drew had a $20M salary, and a $30M cap hit. Same idea though.

 

[tak]

I seriously don't like the thread title.
"A win for the Saints..."

If you speak it out like that does it implies that the other side has lost.

And I don't like any idea of Drew having lost any battle.

This deal is a good deal for both sides.

Drew is happy, Saints are happy, Fans are happy, Falcons are unhappy.

So its a Win-Win-Win-Lost situation.
Perfect !

Drew is a Saint. So in Nicks defense he is saying it's a win for both.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

Good contract for both sides. Shortly after the 2017 season, Drew will turn 39. The no-trade and no-franchise clause gives Brees control over where he plays should he decide to play after 2017 (and he might have one more season in him beyond 2017).

And the Underhill piece is excellent. I have seen or heard a few outside the region suggest that it would have been better had the team and Brees parted ways because his presence ensures just enough wins to prevent us from drafting high enough to pick a franchise quarterback. The expectations for the Saints for 2016 are really low. That we have had no much flux in our final roster in the days before the season-opener is not a positive sign. But we are basically a young team and seem just a few players away from really competing. Add two guards, a defensive end, and another linebacker, and get Kikaha and Rankins healthy, and I like this team.

Of course, every time I say we are just a few players away, I am reminded of the time decades ago when GM Dick Gordon said the Saints were only three players away from the Super Bowl, and Buddy D on his TV broadcast, after showing the Gordon clip, agreed, though adding that the three players were the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

[St.Fury]

I stopped reading there...twice. Only because that statement was too funny. I'm gonna have to try again later.

Well-played Underhill.

 

[muzzy]

Nice work if you can get it:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Drew Brees has made $154.7M in cash earnings in his NFL career, the 2nd-highest amount among active players (Eli Manning, $158.5M)</p>&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/773608301267259392">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash">#Saints</a> agree on extension for Drew Brees. By the end of this deal he will have approx $195M on the field in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash">#NFL</a> career</p>&mdash; Robert Raiola, CPA (@SportsTaxMan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsTaxMan/status/773608639357595648">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[St.Dan]

We were the Browns for 25 years.

And those Browns, who were contenders back when were pretenders, are the new '80s Bucs.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

And how much has Drew made in endorsements and investments? Seriously, unless he has made some really bad investments, his next three generations are set up for life.

 

[TheRealJRad]

Drew signed it; but I seriously doubt he is happy. The organization and a portion of the fan base failed to respect and support him.

We will be going through another year and offseason just like this past one, since he was effectively extended for a single year. We'll see if Drew makes a similar decision next year.

Unless he is ready to retire after winning another ring, and doesn't want to hamstring the franchise.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Nice work if you can get it:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Drew Brees has made $154.7M in cash earnings in his NFL career, the 2nd-highest amount among active players (Eli Manning, $158.5M)</p>&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/773608301267259392">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash">#Saints</a> agree on extension for Drew Brees. By the end of this deal he will have approx $195M on the field in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash">#NFL</a> career</p>&mdash; Robert Raiola, CPA (@SportsTaxMan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsTaxMan/status/773608639357595648">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I think Brady is just behind him ( I wonder what the number is now), but that's mostly because his rookie deal was as a 6th round pick, vs Brees as a 2nd round pick and having to play on a franchise tag in SD.