Drew Brees remains silent but actions speak louder than words.

In yet another sign that the NFL’s all-time leader with 80,358 career passing yards is set to retire from the Saints, Brees re-negotiated his contract to reduce his salary cap charge for 2021 by $24 million, as first reported by Jason Fitzgerald of OvertheCap.com.

Brees dropped his salary for 2021 to the NFL minimum for a player of his experience. It provides some necessary breathing room as the Saints work through an offseason where they are projected to be $70 million over the salary cap, according to OvertheCap.

The 20-year veteran was scheduled to count $36.15 million against the Saints’ cap if he plays. If he retires, that number was going to be $22.65 million. After the change, the cap charge is just $12.25 million until June 1. At that point, the Saints could spread the roughly $22 million in dead money on the cap from his previous bonuses over the next two years.

It’s just one way for teams to manipulate the cap. The Saints will need to restructure other large contracts and/or turn veterans into cap casualties to free up space.

The Saints were eliminated by the Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round playoffs and Brees deflected questions about his future until after discussing options with his family. It is widely assumed he is going to retire, but there was similar speculation last offseason and he surprisingly re-signed a two-year, $50 million contract.

Saints coach Sean Payton said earlier this week he expects an announcement from Brees, 42, within the next two weeks.

Brees is the highest-earning quarterback of all-time at $273.9 million, just ahead of Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger.