NFL

Drew Brees signs $44M extension with Saints

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has agreed to a contract extension with the Saints and a person familiar with the deal says it will keep Brees in New Orleans through at least 2017 and guarantee him $44.3 million US.

Contract provides cap flexibility for New Orleans to improve team

Drew Brees has signed an extension that will keep him in New Orleans through at least the 2017 season. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has agreed to a contract extension with the Saints and a person familiar with the deal says it will keep Brees in New Orleans through at least 2017 and guarantee him $44.3 million US.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because details of the extension had not been announced.

The contract runs for five years, starting this season, and includes a $30 million bonus that, for now, can be prorated over that period to substantially reduce the $30 million Brees' old contract would have counted against the Saints' salary cap this season. However, the final three seasons are voidable, meaning the Saints and Brees, who turns 38 in January, will have to revisit the possibility of another extension next year.

The deal also has a no-trade clause.

Brees said Wednesday that the salary cap implications were the most important thing to him because it puts the Saints in position to keep and acquire talent.

And though the deal is only guaranteed for two years, Brees said he plans to play longer and acknowledged that he wanted a contract reflecting that but added this deal "was in the best interest of the team."​

Brees was about to enter the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract he signed in 2012, one season after setting a then NFL-record with 5,476 yards passing. He also threw for 46 touchdowns in 2011, when the offence he ran piled up an NFL-record 7,474 yards.