Saints Star Derek Carr Retires From NFL, But Business Ventures Await

Quarterback Derek Carr has retired from the NFL.

Following an injury to his throwing shoulder, his future with the New Orleans Saints hung in the balance for much of the spring.

“It’s taken a few weeks because it’s not an easy answer,” he exclusively shared in early May. “We’re both trying to find a solution that’s best for me and best for the team when it comes to the rehab, or is it surgery? It’s a tricky, touchy thing because you can get a lot of opinions.”

The four-time Pro Bowler and younger brother of David Carr — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft — Derek Carr spent nine years with the Raiders organization before signing a four-year, $150 million contract, including $100 million guaranteed, with the Saints in 2023.

He’s gone 14-13 with the Saints while completing 68.2% of his passes for 6,023 yards, 40 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Of course, he’s most associated with the Raiders for whom he is the franchise’s all-time leader in completions (3,201), passing touchdowns (217) and passing yards (35,222).

Now that the 34-year-old quarterback has retired, a plethora of business opportunities await.

A Frozen Bond

Derek’s latest business venture came about organically.

Derek’s wife, Heather, bought pints of chocolate and mint chip Frönen, a frozen, ice cream-like dessert free of gluten, dairy, soy and seed oil and gums, from Sprouts Farmers Market.

Derek typically avoids dessert, but his family got him to try it.

“We ended up loving it,” Derek said.

Healthy food is very important to David’s wife, Melody, because David and three of their five kids have Type 1 diabetes.

So, Heather sent some to her sister-in-law, Melody.

“This is all our wives’ doing,” Derek said. “They’re the brains behind the operation.”

Heather reached out to the frozen dessert company via Instagram, and a partnership between the Carrs and Frönen quickly came together in April.

“We all just clicked,” said Frönen president Brian McDermott.

The Carrs are not only ambassadors for the product, but David and Derek are also are two of the more significant investors in the company.

“It’s a meaningful stake,” said Frönen CEO George Ho.

Frönen was founded at the University of Chicago in 2018. Jessica Gartenstein, who suffers from celiac disease, longed to be able to enjoy dessert. Her partner, Erik Nadeau, introduced Gartenstein to his grandmother’s fruit-based recipes.

The pints now come in 10 flavors, ranging from madagascar vanilla to peanut butter chip. Frönen, which is German for “indulge,” has doubled its store count in the last year and is now available at 1,700 grocers, including Sprouts, Natural Grocers, Wegmans, Raley’s and Whole Foods.

More could be on the way.

“This partnership with the Carrs is going to take Frönen to yet another level,” Ho said.

Brothers in Business

Frönen isn’t the only business on which the two brothers work together.

David and Derek are co-spokesmen for a couple of businesses in the Central Valley of California: Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) and Valley Children’s Healthcare. And they are creative collaborators with Moonracer Films, a Sacramento, Calif.

“What’s been fun about that is that we’ve been able to do it together,” David said. “We can bounce ideas off each other.”

In addition to his work with Derek, David is individually involved with several of his own companies. He’s a spokesman for Table Mountain Casino, Bonadelle Neighborhoods home builder, The Iron Office Gym, The Good Feet Store and Motor City car dealerships. An NFL Network analyst since 2016, he also appears in regular segments on iHeart radio segment and ABC30 News in Fresno.

“We only partner with people we believe in,” Derek said.

Just like Derek followed his enjoyment of Frönen, he chose a product he loved while investing in OOFOS.

After breaking his fibula in Week 16 of the 2016 NFL season, he started wearing OOFOS footwear, whose sports slides, sandals and close-toed shoes are designed for post-sports recovery because of its foam technology.

“Immediately, my discomfort went from like a 10 out of 10 to a one out of 10,” Derek said. “I was like, ‘this insane.’”

Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith, whose broken right leg required 17 surgeries, is also an investor in OOFOS.

Smith, the 2020 Comeback Player of the Year, retired in April of 2021. Months later he became an NFL analyst on ESPN.

Business and media could similarly mark Carr’s post-quarterback future too, but he said his priority will be coaching his children and working in the ministry.

“I find myself wearing a lot of different hats and getting excited about a lot of different things,” Derek said. “I’m a faithful man first.”