Peppers remains a Panther

All those promises worth millions upon millions to free agents turned into paydays Wednesday when the NFL’S business year began.

Of course, teams needed to clear salary cap space or rejigger their ledgers to make it work, and they’ll still be doing so for months.

While the likes of Drew Brees, Malcolm Butler and Andrew Norwell cashed in big time, having reached agreements in the past two days before everything became official, some value entered the marketplace.

Arizona released safety Tyrann Mathieu when it couldn’t rework his deal. On Tuesday, the Cardinals let running back Adrian Peterson go.

Baltimore cut receiver Jeremy Maclin. Detroit said goodbye to tight end Eric Ebron. Pittsburgh tore up a secondary that often was torn up by opposing quarterbacks, releasing Mike Mitchell, Robert Golden and William Gay.

But Carolina had more success with a veteran, completing a one-year deal with defensive end Julius Peppers.

Peppers, 38, who contemplated retirement after 17 seasons, remains with the Panthers for $5 million, with $2.5 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the situation said.

“I am fired up to have him back,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “It was amazing to have him as part of what we are trying to build and I think he can help us get to the next level.”

Cleveland, meanwhile, did nothing more than listen to one of its greatest players, tackle Joe Thomas , announce his retirement. The Browns save his $10.3 million salary for 2018 and a $3 million bonus but lose their best player and leader in the expansion era (1999-present), a 10-time Pro Bowler.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but the right one for me and my family,” Thomas said. “Playing in the NFL has taken a toll on my body and I can no longer physically compete at the level I need to.”