Drew Brees Could Be a Hero By Taking Pay-Cut
By Jason Calbos
Drew Brees is the man in New Orleans. He was a godsend in 2006. He wrote his name amongst the football gods in 2009. Now we are asking him to lead this team into the promised land again.
The New Orleans Saints are staring down the barrel of an improbable situation of being over 22 million dollars over the cap and needing players that are worth having.
The Saints and the rest of the NFL are about to enter one of the most talented and deep free agency periods they have seen in a while. What can the Saints do about it? Nothing for now, they have cashed in all their chips.
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The Saints have almost all their money tied up in giant contracts and have to dump a handful of players to get under the cap without penalty.
It seems two years Mickey Loomis was handing out giant contracts like Mardi Gras beads on Bourbon Street during Fat Tuesday.
Fast forward to today. The problem set before the Saints now is their defense is in need of one or two seasoned veterans who aren’t completely washed up. They will be hard pressed to find players to come play for them when the know the money is limited.
New Orleans knows that it takes big money or at least the promise of a big pay day to lure seasoned talent away from the jaws of other teams. How the Saints are going to be able to go after a defensive tackle like Kendall Langford without having to cut more players?
Enter Drew Brees.
If NFL super stars like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are willing to take pay cuts to help their team, wouldn’t it be fair to ask Drew Brees to do the same thing?
Dec 15, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws in the first half of their game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Drew Brees could be a “hero” by taking a pay-cut.
If Drew Brees were willing to take a 7 million dollar pay cut just this year, it would help lessen the 22 million dollars against the cap.
If Drew led the charge then maybe Jimmy Graham would consider taking a 3 million dollar cut that would reduce the cap overture by 10 million dollars. That is 10 million dollars is nothing to turn your nose up at.
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How do the Saints make that happen you ask? The trick is to take that money that Graham and Brees are “losing” and restructure it into bonuses or contract agreements later in their contracts. That way they still get their money and the Saints save cap space.
It’s hard to think that if approached by Benson, Loomis and Payton that Brees would say no. He has already done so much for this team, it’s not to much of a stretch for him to help out again.
This of course is all to the benefit of him. On one hand, the Saints are able to free up more money to sign a decent defensive pay. On the other hand, Drew Brees is one player closer to reach that sky high goal he has his eyes set on.
If New Orleans hopes to make it anywhere near the levels they saw in 2006, 2009 and 2011 then that hope rest squarely on Drew Brees’s shoulders.