True franchise quarterbacks rarely get to free agency. In the last 15 years, there have been two that have and both had serious injury concerns heading into the offseason: Peyton Manning in 2012 and Drew Brees in 2005.

Brees could be headed back to the the free agent market once again, and there will be plenty of teams waiting in line for his services.

Brees and his agent Tom Condon are looking for a four-year deal worth $100 million with $65 million guaranteed, reports Yahoo’s Charles Robinson. That would be the biggest contract ever given to a quarterback, based on annual salary. It would actually be a pay cut for Brees, who’s scheduled to make $30 million this season.

Only the Chiefs, at $782,809 under, have less cap space than the Saints. 37-yo Drew Brees’ $30M cap hit is by far the highest in the NFL. — Black & Blue Review (@BlackBlueReview) April 22, 2016

So what do the Saints do? Do they lock up their 37-year-old quarterback before the regular season and hope he continues to produce like a top-shelf passer? Or do they let him play out the season, prove he’s still one of the best quarterbacks in the game and then give him the deal he wants?

(Keep in mind: The franchise tag is not an option. As pointed out by Pro Football Talk, Brees’ franchise tag figure would be a 44% increase of his 2016 cap hit since he’s already been franchised twice in his career. He’d make an unreasonable $43.2 million playing under the tag in 2017.)

Both options are risky for different reasons. In the first scenario, New Orleans could be stuck paying an over-the-hill Brees for the next few seasons, thus eliminating any chance the team has of making it to the postseason. But if they don’t pay him, Brees might be tempted by the open market where a team with deep pockets — and possibly a better supporting cast — can pay him even more than he’s asking for now.

But maybe it’s in the Saints best interest to let him walk. The team needs rebuilding, and New Orleans needs high draft picks and cap space to start that process. It’s not getting either with Brees on the roster.

At this point, is there any logical reason for keeping Brees around? The team is not close to competing for the NFC South title, let alone a Super Bowl, and it’s unlikely it ever will be with one player taking up such a huge chunk of the cap — no matter how good he may be.

Looking ahead to next year, the Saints have about $134 million committed in salaries, and that does not factor in a possible deal for Brees. If the front office gave him the $25 million per year deal he’s asking for, that would put the team’s cap number around $160 million, which is about $5 million over the 2016 salary cap.

The Saints would have their quarterback but no money left over to build around him. They’d be paying a big price to keep together the team we’ve seen over the last few years, which has averaged eight wins a season since 2012.

A split would benefit both parties. New Orleans could start its rebuild from the ground up. And Brees could go to a better team that is just a quarterback away from contender.

It might be hard for Saints fans to see Brees performing well in another team’s uniform, but it’s what’s best for everyone involved.