This is very big of Derek Carr. The New Orleans Saints quarterback is giving up $30 million of the $40 million he got in a restructure with the team earlier this year, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, having chosen to retire while dealing with an injured throwing shoulder. He was previously due $10 million as a roster bonus when the Saints restructured his contract, so the team agreed to pay him what he was already owed in exchange for a big break.

That’s a big deal. If he had wanted to, Carr could’ve played hardball and forced the Saints to pay him that $40 million while spending the season on injured reserve. Instead, he’s walking away in a clean split, and the Saints are getting a lot of salary cap relief.

So what will this look like, in the end? Carr’s salary cap hit is still $20,462,000 this year, at least until June 2. When the Saints formally process his retirement and get that $30 million back, they should be left with cap hits of about about $13,207,000 in 2025 and $35,670,000 in 2026. Then he’s off the books by 2027. He did have a salary cap hit of $69,207,000 in 2026, so that means substantial savings. We’ll find out what the real numbers are sooner or later. The point to take away from this is that Carr did the Saints a solid when he didn’t have to. That’s commendable.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Derek Carr retirement: Saints QB stepping away helps the salary cap