The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Brees is due to make $20 million in salary and bonuses this year, which is the final year of his contract. But his salary-cap cost will be $30 million because of all the pro-rated bonus money the Saints have pushed back from previous years. But as ESPN.com's Mike Triplett notes, Brees doesn't actually need to take a pay cut to help the Saints' salary cap for 2016. In fact, they could give him a raise and still save millions against their cap – as long as it comes as part of a multi-year extension.

Diehards Line: Triplett used this example: The Saints and Brees could agree to three more years at $20 million per year. That would make a total of $90 million that they need to count against the salary cap over the next four years (the current $30 million plus $60 million in new money). The Saints could structure it so Brees counts an even $22.5 million against the cap each year. Or they could drop it as low as $16 million in 2016, then have it count closer to $25 million over the next three years. Or something in between. Meanwhile, Brees could get a signing bonus up front worth $20 million or more, making everyone happy. The tougher part is going to be deciding the total value of Brees’ new deal. But that isn't an insurmountable obstacle.