NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints have spent almost every offseason since 2012 doing significant work to become salary cap compliant.
The Saints signed quarterback Drew Brees to a then-record five-year, $100 million extension that year, and they spent the next nine seasons crafting the team around him and his escalating salary cap hits.
Brees counted less than $10 million against the cap for his first three seasons. By the time he signed his final contract in 2019, the Saints were working with cap figures of more than $20 million.
The Saints have not wavered from that philosophy, nor have they had a rookie quarterback to ease the cap burden, instead signing Jameis Winston to a new deal in 2022 and Derek Carr to a four-year deal with $100 million guaranteed in 2023.