“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League.” Derek Carr, at the age of 34, has chosen to walk away from his gridiron duties. Carr was going through a lot ever since last season ended. This offseason, the Saints chose to restructure his $150M contract signed in 2023. Doing so helped the Saints open up $30.9M in cap space. However, within days of his contractual manoeuvre, the Saints received the worst possible news. Carr suffered a potential season-ending shoulder injury, putting the Saints’ QB room and his future in jeopardy. Now, almost 2 months later, Carr came to the decision that it’s best to retire instead of lingering with a murky future. So, that makes us think about how much the 34-year-old is walking away with through his 11-year career.

Derek Carr spent his first nine years in the league with the Las Vegas Raiders. A legend in LA, Carr left Sin City as their all-time leader in completions (3,201), passing TDs (217) and passing yards (35,222). But after joining the Saints in a whopping $150M contract with $100M in guarantees, things didn’t go in Carr’s favour. In his two seasons as the Saints’ undisputed starter, Carr only managed 14 wins out of his 27 starts. He completed only 68.2% of his passes for 6,023 yards, 40 TDs and 13 INTs.

This year was supposed to be a fresh start for Carr. With the arrival of Super Bowl-winning OC Kellen Moore as HC, Carr was projected to play a crucial role in the Saints’ resurgence. However, instead of being part of a revolution, Carr will now watch from his home as the Saints look to move on from him. Upon his shock retirement, Carr chose to forgo the $30M guaranteed money left in his contract. As for the Saints, they also returned Carr’s favor by not seeking reimbursement of the $10M roster bonus.

In his 11-year career, Carr ended up making over $195M. Obviously, a chunk of that cash came from the Raiders, where he won 4 Pro Bowls. As per Spotrac, Carr made over $135M from his 11 seasons as a Raider. He now hangs up his cleats with a net worth of over $80M. Of course, this sum will go down gradually as Carr leaves football altogether. However, considering his other commitments, Carr may not have to worry about money in retirement.

Derek Carr’s possible life after retirement

Of course, there might not be any more life-changing NFL money coming towards Carr. But that doesn’t mean he would now live a mediocre life. Derek Carr and his brother, David Carr, are said to be significant investors in Frönen. It’s a frozen dessert company that the Carrs have partnered with to promote its growth. Ever since Derek and David’s wife fell in love with Frönen desserts, the Carrs have served as the brand’s ambassadors. The two even passed on all the credits behind this investment to their respective wives. “This is all our wives doing. They’re the brains behind the operation,” Derek said.

Apart from holding a major share in a dessert company, David and Derek serve as the co-spokesmen for a couple of businesses. From Educational Employees Credit Union, Valley Children’s Healthcare, to Moonracer Films, Carr and his brother look after everything. David even once said, “What’s been fun about that is that we’ve been able to do it together. We can bounce ideas off each other.” Judging by the business ventures in which Carr is already involved, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this is his future.

But obviously, only time will tell where Carr will be headed now. Right now, Carr would probably be busy looking back at a career that could have ended in a better fashion than a forced injury retirement.