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Saints Restructure Derek Carr's Contract To Reaffirm That He's The Starter

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By John Hendrix | Last updated Mar 8, 2025 6:20 PM ET

Derek Carr is definitely the New Orleans Saints starting QB in 2025.

According to a Saturday report by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo, Carr will get all of the $40 million owed to him this year, and there's no pay cut for him or restructure, but they appeared to have worked it out for salary cap purposes.

After discussing multiple options for handling his 2025 compensation, the Saints and QB Derek Carr are expected to convert most of the money into a signing bonus for salary-cap purposes, sources tell me and @RapSheet . Carr is in line to get all $40 million owed this year.

This comes as no surprise, as we learned recently and reported that Carr was going to be the team's starter this season. The move will open up around $30 million for the Saints, making a huge dent in their salary cap overage ahead of the new league year.

At the Scouting Combine, both Kellen Moore and Mickey Loomis showed more commitment to Carr being their guy, saying that they believe they have a quarterback that the Saints can win with. Moore said that he fits his scheme and liked his rhythm and timing.

Following the news, it wasn't exactly a done deal because of the contract situation. The two parties had a lot to work through and there were multiple options, but a standard conversion is what was settled on. Restructuring was always built into Carr's contract, but he made it clear that he did not want to take a pay cut.

Carr was owed $40 million in guarantees by the third day of the new league year, with $30 million of it being his base salary and $10 million being a roster bonus. His 2026 cap hit will have significant impact, to the tune of $69 million.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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