Drew Brees

Drew Christopher Brees is a professional football player signed with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was born on January 15, 1979 in Austin, Texas. He played college football at Purdue University.

Brees was originally selected in the 2nd round by the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 NFL Draft. After the 2005 season, Brees became a free agent. On March 14, 2006, Brees was offered a $60 million, 6-year contract by the New Orleans Saints. Impressed by the team's newfound dedication to win, as well as their confidence in him as a player, Brees quickly signed and closed the deal.

Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times in his career - with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006 and 2008. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004 and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008.

Brees attended Westlake High School in his hometown Austin, Texas. As a senior, he led Westlake to the 1996 5A Division II State Championship, and won with a 55-15 rout over a powerhouse Abilene Cooper team led by star running back Dominic Rhodes, at Texas Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Westlake finished that season 16-0, their only undefeated season to date. Brees was named Class 5A's most valuable offensive player that year as he threw for 3,528 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also lettered in basketball and was a teammate of future NBA player Chris Mihm.

College Career

Brees graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana with a degree in Industrial Management. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He left Purdue with Big Ten Conference records in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678). He also led the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl, Purdue's first appearance in Pasadena since 1967. Brees was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback in 1999. Brees won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player of 2000 and won the NCAA's Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2001. Brees was also fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1999 and 3rd in 2000.

In Brees' sophomore season, Brees led the team on an 80 yard drive with 1:25 left in the 1998 Builders Square Alamo Bowl versus #4 ranked Kansas State, capping it off with a 25 yard touchdown pass to senior WR Ike Jones with:45 seconds left in regulation. The win was significant in that it is only one of two times an unranked team has upset a Top 5 ranked team in a bowl game, the other being the 1984 Rose Bowl, in which UCLA, led by future college head coach Rick Neuheisel at quarterback, engineered a 45-10 upset of #3 ranked Illinois. He also appeared on the cover of the Sega Sports NCAA College Football 2K2 for the Sega Dreamcast.

As a senior Brees was named the Academic All-America Player of Year, the first Purdue Boilermaker since Bruce Brineman (1989) to earn national academic honors. Brees also was awarded for his humble and productive attitude when he was the recipient of Purdue's Leonard Wilson Award for unselfishness and dedication. Additionally, Brees guided the Boilermakers to their first Rose Bowl appearance in over a quarter-century. Brees locked up the bowl berth by leading Purdue to a hard-earned October victory over Ohio State, capping the Big Ten battle with a 64 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Seth Morales, a walk-on transfer from Butler University. Replays of the scoring pass show that Brees had the rare discipline to go through his receivers to the fourth option on the play. He also holds the record for the longest pass in NCAA history (99 yards).


Professional Career

San Diego Chargers

2001 NFL Draft

Brees was selected by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick of the second round in 2001.

While Brees was a senior at Purdue, he and LaDainian Tomlinson (then a running back for Texas Christian University) joked at a Heisman awards ceremony about how it would be great if they could be on the same team, because they attended nearby high schools in Texas and even played with each other in a league all star game. With the 2001 draft, they did end up on the same team. Tomlinson and Brees made a vow to turn the Chargers team around.

Drew has claimed that his relationship with his mother, Mina Brees, an attorney in Austin, Texas, suffered when he did not choose her as his agent. Later, during the election season of 2006, Brees threatened to sue his mother if she continued to use his image in her campaign effort to become a judge, citing that their relationship had become "nonexistent" since the draft.


Early Career

Brees played in his first-career game on November 4, 2001 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He won the starting job over Doug Flutie during training camp before the start of the 2002 season, but was later replaced during the 2003 season by Flutie.

In his rookie season, Brees played only one game under head coach Mike Riley and earned a passer rating of 94.8. In his second year, he passed for 3,284 yards and 17 touchdowns under new head coach Marty Schottenheimer. The Chargers looked to turn Brees' second season into a successful one as they started 4-0. However, an up-and-down season ending with the Chargers losing their last four games placed the team at 8-8, while Brees earned a 76.9 passer rating for the season. Brees was named the starter for the 2003 season, passing for a career low 2,108 yards and earning a 67.5 rating. The Chargers went 4-12 under the leadership of both Brees and Flutie. San Diego earned the first overall pick with said record, and through a deal with the New York Giants got Philip Rivers for Eli Manning. However, due to the long contract negotiations between Rivers and the Chargers, Brees started the following season and had a break out year.


Comeback

Brees' career with the Chargers was briefly put in jeopardy after San Diego acquired N.C. State's Philip Rivers. After the trade, it was almost certain Brees' days as the Chargers' starting QB were over. However, Rivers held out nearly all of training camp. This forced the Chargers coaching staff to give Brees one last look and he persevered to remain the starter throughout the 2004 season and jump to near the top of the league's statistical rankings. In the Halloween 2004 matchup against the Oakland Raiders, he completed 22 out of 25 passes for 281 yards and 5 TDs in a 41-14 victory. He followed that productive performance the next week versus the New Orleans Saints, where he went 22 of 36 for 257 yards and 4 TD in a 43-17 triumph. He would finish the season with 3,159 passing yards, 27 TD, and only 7 INT giving him a QB rating of 104.8, the third best rating in the NFL (behind Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper). In the postseason, he threw for 319 yards and 2 TD with 1 INT on 31 of 42 passing in a losing effort against the New York Jets in Qualcomm Stadium in overtime (17-20). Brees was selected to the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl following his impressive 2004 season. He was also named 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Brees became a free agent after the 2004 season and was not expected to return to San Diego, which had already committed a large sum of money to Rivers. The team eventually designated Brees as a franchise player, giving him a one-year contract that quadrupled his pay to $8 million for the 2005 season.

Under the terms of the "franchise player" contract, Brees was eligible to be traded, but the Chargers would have had to receive two future first round draft choices in return. He was not traded and continued to start the remainder of the 2005 season.

Drew continued his productive play in 2005, as he posted a career high in passing yards with 3,576. Brees also posted an 89.2 rating, which was the 10th best in the NFL. Additionally, during the 2005 season he led the Chargers to a win over the New England Patriots at New England, thus breaking a home-winning streak held by the Patriots at Gillette Stadium while posting a 137.5 rating resulting from 19 of 24 passing, 248 yards, 2 TD, and 0 INT. Later that season, Brees led the Chargers to a 48-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills. He completed 28 of 33 passing for 399 yards and four touchdowns. Brees battled through 3 turnovers (2 INT, 1 fumble) to throw a 54 yard pass that would set up a field goal which regained the lead in a crucial game against the previously undefeated Indianapolis Colts 26-17.


Shoulder Injury

In the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees injured his shoulder while trying to pick up a fumble of his after being hit by Denver Broncos safety Rob Jamison. Denver tackle Gerard Warren hit Brees while he was on the ground, a legal but questionable hit that caused the injury. Brees underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder on January 5, 2006. Subsequent reports mention rotator cuff damage as well, making the injury much more serious than it was originally described. Then in an interview given in July 2006, he acknowledged that the labrum injury was much worse than originally known and he had also suffered a partially torn rotator cuff.

Brees was selected as first alternate to the AFC Pro Bowl team in 2006. He would have played in his second consecutive Pro Bowl due to the injury to Carson Palmer; however, his own injury dictated that the AFC Pro Bowl roster would have to be filled by second alternate Jake Plummer.

After the injury, San Diego Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith told Brees that the team wanted him back to full strength and that they wanted him to lead them to a championship. Brees, eligible for free agency, saw the request as a sign that he would be back in a Chargers uniform. He stated in a local San Diego radio interview that he was willing to take less than "franchise-type" money to be with a Super Bowl contender. However, as negotiations began between Brees' agent Tom Condon and the Chargers, it became apparent that the Chargers were more concerned about Brees' injury than they had previously let on. The team offered Brees a 5-year, $50 million contract that paid $2 million in base salary the first year and the rest heavily based on performance incentives, notably that he line up under center 75% of the season. Brees took the incentive-based offer as a sign of no confidence by the Chargers and promptly demanded the type of money a top 5 "franchise" quarterback would receive.


New Orleans Saints

After the Chargers refused to increase their offer, Brees met with other teams. The New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins were interested in him. New Orleans made him a large offer that included $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year. Miami asked Brees if he would be willing to take less guaranteed money so they could fit him under their salary cap, but Brees refused and also did not accept the suspicious results of a grueling 6-hour physical in Miami. The Dolphins ended negotiations with him and traded for Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper instead.

Brees then quickly signed a 6-year, $60 million deal with the New Orleans Saints on March 14, 2006. The Saints hoped the former Comeback Player of the Year could improve the team and lead them to the playoffs. Brees also claimed he was impressed by the team's new-found commitment to winning and their confidence in him as a player.

2006 - 2007 Season

Brees had a productive year in 2006. He threw a league-leading 4,418 passing yards, finished third in the league with 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions and a 96.2 passer rating. On November 19, 2006 he also achieved a career best 510 passing yards in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. On December 19, 2006, Brees was named the starting quarterback for the NFC team in the 2007 Pro Bowl. On January 5, 2007, Brees was named the first runner-up behind former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson for league MVP by the Associated Press. He was also co-recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (which he shared with LaDainian Tomlinson) at the conclusion of the season.

On January 13, 2007, in his first playoff game for New Orleans, Brees was 20-32 in passing attempts with 1 touchdown and no interceptions vs. the Philadelphia Eagles in the Louisiana Superdome.

On January 21, 2007, Brees led the Saints to the franchise's first NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears. Though he completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards, and two touchdowns, Brees committed three costly turnovers. He was also penalized for an intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety. The Saints eventually lost to the Bears, 39-14. After the season, Brees dislocated his left elbow during the first quarter of the 2007 Pro Bowl. Despite not reaching the Super Bowl, the season was seen as a success for the team that was still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina and finished last in the division a year ago at 3-13.


2007 - 2008 Season

The 2007 version of the Saints experienced a falloff from their playoff year prior. Brees would finish the year with a stat line of 16 starts, 443 completions, 655 attempts for a 67.6 completion percentage and 4428 yards, 276.8 yards/game, 6.8 yards/attempt, 28touchdowns & 18 interceptions. At this point Brees was widely considered an elite Quarterback in the NFL despite the Saints losing record of 7-9 on the season.


2008 - 2009 Season

In 2008, Brees finished 15 yards short of the NFL record for passing yards thrown in a single season set by Dan Marino in 1984. Brees did, however, have the opportunity to break Marino's record on the Saints final play of the season. The Carolina Panthers secondary gave his receivers room to make a 15 yard catch in order to defend the Hail Mary that could have won the game. Brees' pass to Lance Moore, however, fell incomplete and he did not get the record. Nevertheless, he finished the season with 5,069 yards and became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season. He also passed for 300 yards ten times during the season, tying Rich Gannon's 2002 record. He was named FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performances during weeks 8 and 12 and was also named the AP 2008 Offensive Player of the Year. Despite his impressive play, the Saints would go on to finish 8-8.


2009 - 2010 Season

In the first game of the 2009 season against the Detroit Lions, Drew Brees set a career-high and franchise-tying record with six touchdowns, going 26 for 34 with 358 yards. He also set a record for most passing touchdowns on opening weekend. Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints to their first victory of the season. They also handed the Lions their 18th straight loss.

September 20th 2009 Week 2 of the 2009 NFL season Drew Brees led his team to a 48-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing 2 touchdown passes to teammate Marques Colston. Drew Brees tied for the most touchdowns by the end of Week 2 with 9. Going into Week 3, Drew Brees almost had 700 passing yards.

In Week 3 Brees led the Saints to a 27-7 win over the Buffalo Bills. Brees did not have any touchdowns for the game, but his team rushed for more than 150 yards as he posted a passer rating of 73.0.

In Week 4 Brees led the Saints to a 24-10 win over the New York Jets. Brees was held without a touchdown for the second consecutive game but completed 20-of-32 passes for 190 yards with a Quarterback Rating of 78.00. It was only the second time he went without throwing a touchdown in consecutive weeks in his career with the New Orleans Saints.

In Week 6, following the bye week, Brees led the Saints to a 48-27 win over the New York Giants in a highly anticipated showdown of two unbeaten teams. The Giants at this point held the No. 1 ranked defense in the league. Brees completed 23-of-30 passes for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns with a passer rating of 156.8 to help the Saints compile nearly 500 yards of offense.

In Week 7 Brees led the Saints to a dramatic comeback victory on the road against the Miami Dolphins. The Saints quickly faced a 24-3 deficit in the second quarter, trailing for the first time all season at that point, and failing to score on their first possession as they had in all of their previous contests. Brees had a poor outing, throwing one touchdown to three interceptions on 22 of 33 passing, passing for 298 yards with a Quarterback Rating of 58.9, but provided two crucial rushing touchdowns, one just before the second half to narrow the deficit to 24-10, and one in the third quarter to give the Saints their first lead of the game, 37-34. The Saints went on to win the game 46-34.

In Week 8 Brees threw for 308 yards on 25 of 33 passing along with two touchdowns and one interception against the rival Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football in New Orleans. Drew would take a sack and fumble from Atlanta Falcons' Thomas Decoud near the Saints' own end zone to be recovered by fellow Falcon Kroy Bierman for a touchdown, as the Saints once again faced an early deficit, 14-7, in the 1st quarter. Brees, though, would lead the Saints to a 35-27 victory and franchise tying best start at 7-0, posting a paser rating of 111.7.

In Week 9 Brees helped guide the Saints to a 30-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Louisiana Superdome. He went 24 of 35 in passing for 330 yards with a passer rating of 96.1 against a Carolina defense that led the league in passing defense at that point. Brees would throw an early interception in the 1st quarter and a 3rd quarter touchdown to Saints' wide receiver Robert Meachem as time expired to the 4th quarter to tie the game at 20 all to erase an early 14-0 deficit and give the Saints their first tie of the game. This would be Drew's first victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Superdome and allowed the Saints to take their best ever start in franchise history at 8-0.

In Week 10 Brees led the Saints to play against the struggling 1-7 St. Louis Rams in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. Drew would pass for 223 yards with 18 of 26 passing along with two touchdowns against two interceptions for an 89.1 Quarterback Rating. The Saints surprisingly struggled with the Rams, being tied at halftime 14-14, but with a 97 yard kickoff return by the Saints' Courtney Roby to start the second half and a 27 yard pass from Drew Brees to Robert Meachem in the 4th quarter, Drew helped the Saints escape from St. Louis with a 28-23 victory.

In Week 11 Brees and the Saints would face another struggling team, the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in Tampa. Brees passed for only 187 yards, but had 3 touchdown passes and no turnovers for a 118.0 passer rating, his 5th game of the season with a rating over 100. After falling behind 7-0 early in the first quarter, the Saints and Brees would score 38 consecutive points to win 38-7. An 11 yard Drew Brees pass to tight-end David Thomas in the third quarter would give the Saints' their 18th different player to have scored a touchdown on the season.

In Week 12 Brees led the Saints to an 11-0 record, beating the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, in a much hyped match up. Drew Brees totaled 371 yards passing, beating the Patriots 38-17 in an impressive victory. As he's done all year, Brees distributed the ball equally, and threw many long passing touchdowns including a 69 yard pass to Devery Henderson, and a 35 yard touchdown catch to Robert Meachem. Drew Brees posted a perfect Quarterback Rating of 158.3.

After close victories over the Washington Redskins and Falcons in successive weeks, Brees and the Saints succumbed to their first loss against the Dallas Cowboys in week 15. The team continued to slide in the coming weeks, losing in Week 16 and 17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, respectively. The Saints finished the year with a 13-3 overall record, tops in the NFC.

Brees' individual statistics led to numerous accolades, including a Pro Bowl selection, the Maxwell Football Club's Bert Bell Award, and runner-up in voting for the AP MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and All-Pro awards. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 70.62 which established a new NFL record.

In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Saints routed the Arizona Cardinals to advance to the NFC Championship, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28. Brees completed 17 of 31 passes for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns. The team will face the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.

National Football League Records

• Most completions for a season - 440 (2007 Season)
• Highest Completion percentage for a season - 70.62 (2009 Season)

Brees and his wife, Brittany, have a son, Baylen Robert Brees (born January 15, 2009, which was also Drew's 30th birthday).

Brees visited the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on a USO tour in late June 2009. Following his return he went on record concerning the conditions of captives held in extrajudicial detention there. Brees was quoted as saying that Guantanamo captives are being treated ten times better than convicts in U.S. prisons.

Brees's mother, Mina Brees, died in 2009 at age 59. The death was ruled a suicide. Brees was briefly excused from training camp for a "family matter". In 2006, Brees described their relationship as "nonexistent" ever since he refused to hire her as his agent when he entered the NFL. After her death, Brees stated that this quote was three years old and that his relationship with his mother had been improving.

Brees could have gone to Brown University, and said that if he had, he might be in politics right now. His host on recruiting visit was Sean Morey, a former Pro Bowler for Arizona Cardinals.

Charity and Volunteer

He has been involved in Hurricane Katrina recovery. Drew and Brittany's Brees Dream Foundation announced a partnership in 2007 with international children's charity Operation Kids, to rebuild and restore academic and athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds, after-school programs, mentoring programs for the intellectually disabled, neighborhood revitalization projects and child care facilities in New Orleans.

In February 2008, Brees signed a promotional deal with Chili's Grill & Bar to promote the chain's new line of hamburgers. The promotion helped raise money for charity. In June 2008, Brees is participating in the Pro Sports Team Challenge, a competition for pro athletes to help raise money for charities. The charity Brees played for was Operation Kids.

On February 18, 2007, Brees was honored by the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade club,as the 2007 Bacchus Grand Marshal. Drew Brees will be presiding over as King of Bacchus during the Bacchus parade set to roll Feb. 14, 2010 two days before Mardi Gras and a week after the Super Bowl.