Four-time Pro Bowler Derek Carr has made it clear he intends to keep God first after signing a $150 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
“My faith is number 1. That will never change, no matter what, good or bad,” Carr said during his introductory news conference with the New Orleans Saints last Saturday.
Carr, who almost gave up his NFL career to become a Christian pastor, explained in his press conference how faith is the foundation of everything he and his family does.
“I’m not gonna sit up here and throw Bibles at everybody, but I do have faith and I do believe,” he said Saturday. “That’s how we raise our children, and that’s what the basis of our marriage is on. I love my wife because of the way that I am loved and how I learned that love.”
To attentive observers, it was perhaps no surprise that Carr opted to sign with the New Orleans “Saints” after having been a “Raider” for nine years. Carr has signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints, coming to fill the role of franchise quarterback.
A fan holds up a sign thanking quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders and AFC during the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl Games at Allegiant Stadium on February 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Carr’s Christian faith inspires him to frame his role in terms of leadership through service. “How do I add value? Be a blessing, not a burden to anybody in this building,” he said.
The new quarterback would like the exercise of Christian charity to extend to his family’s new home of New Orleans, but in a discreet way.
“We like to make sure that the impact we’re making isn’t for everyone to see,” he said of his aspirations in the community. “For us, there’s a lot of stuff we do that — it’s the one person that you run into at Target that may need a little help, or there’s that one person at the gas station.”
“We always try to be open to that, and what the Lord is saying to us,” he added.
Carr has described his faith in Jesus as the most important thing in his life — even more than football — in a profile on his website.
“I have a very strong faith in God. He is the reason I play football,” the Pro Bowler said of his vocation.
While he considered signing with the New York Jets, Carr ultimately realized that New Orleans was to be his home.
“Like, ‘I’m a Saint.’ That’s it. I don’t have anything in my heart anywhere else,” he said.