Irma Vedros
August 9, 2016
Saints look to avenge 2-straight losing seasons
August 10, 2016
Drew Brees is 37 years old.
By the time the 2016-17 NFL season ends, he will be 38.
Drew Brees is 37 years old.
By the time the 2016-17 NFL season ends, he will be 38.
By standard life measures, Brees is still a young man. He’s a father, a husband and is incredibly healthy.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to think Brees still has some of the best years of his life ahead.
But in NFL years, Brees isn’t young. He’s actually more like an endangered dinosaur — the rare physical specimen to withstand the test of time enough to play professional football well into his 30s.
But Father Time is undefeated, and there will come a time when Brees is no longer able to be the prolific passer he is today.
The question of when that regression occurs is arguably the biggest dilemma the Saints face now and into the future.
Brees is in the final year of the five-year, $100-million contract he signed just before training camp in 2012.
At press-time on Friday afternoon, he had not yet signed a new contract. The quarterback said if no deal is reached before the start of the regular season, he will become a free agent- free for any team to bid on.
Reports out of the quarterback’s camp say that he wants a multi-year contract that will make him among the highest-paid passers in the NFL.
New Orleans is reportedly uneasy about that commitment
because of Brees’ age and the risk of diminished returns.
And as for the team’s fans? They’re torn, too.
Those questioned this week throughout the Houma-Thibodaux area had mixed reviews on the contract situation. The consensus seems to be that most want Brees to be a Saint for the rest of his career — but only if it’s at a rate that allows the team to be successful into the future.
“He’s our guy,” Houma fan Tommy Falgout said. “I named my son after Drew Brees. But, do we want to be paying him $30 million when he’s 41? Business is business. He has to understand he only has a little bit of time left.”
“I want to see a short deal — maybe even year by year,” Larose man Bobby Mills added. “That gives us an easy out if he falls off. I love him, but I’m worried about the future. I don’t want to see no Brett Favre stuff where he’s 50 years old and can’t play but still eating up our money.”
But Brees has a point, too.
He is still very much an elite quarterback. By his math, he should be paid like one, too.
Last season, Brees completed 428-of-627 passes for 4,870 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions — a level of productivity matched by just a handful of players in the NFL.
In 2014-15, Brees was just as precise, completing 456-of-659 passes for 33 touchdowns.
Throughout camp, Brees has stated that his body feels good — as fresh as he’s been in years.
Brees hasn’t offered much on the contract discussions, but added that it’s his goal to play into his 40s.
Thibodaux native Tammy Young said she thinks Brees can do it. She points to his ability to overcome injuries in the past as proof. She thinks the Saints should give him the money.
“Pay him,” Young said. “How many guys they have on that team who get all this money and do nothing to deserve it? A lot. He’s been our rock. Pay him. If the wheels fall off, he will retire. Pay him. He’s been good to us. We need to be good to him.”
Other fans aren’t quite so sure that’s the best move.
Most agree that when Brees starts to show signs of aging, it will happen quickly.
History shows that’s usually the case.
In 2014, New Orleans native and then-Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was an MVP candidate who completed 395-of-597 passes for 4,727 yards and 39 touchdowns.
But last season, Manning was a shell of himself, who had just nine touchdowns to 17 interceptions, leading to his retirement.
In 2014, Manning was 38 — like Brees will be at the end of this season.
Last year, he was 39 — the age Brees would be at the end of the first year of his new deal with the team.
The same thing happened to Favre, who had 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2009 as a 40-year-old gunslinger.
But in 2010, he looked like a completely different guy, tossing 11 touchdowns with 19 picks.
Most fans agree that the same thing will happen to Brees in the very near future.
“It’s like making a fire and throwing fireworks in it,” Houma man Zach Iles said. “The first time, they’ll pop and fly over your head. The second time, they’ll sail to your left. But if you do it enough times, you’re going to get hit in the face. Every year added on that deal makes it likely the Saints are going to get hit in the face with an explosion.”
“He’s done his time,” Lockport native Billy Abrams agreed. “We have to find a new race horse. This one is about time to sit in the stalls for a while.”
But all agree that it’s hard because of how beloved a figure Brees is in Louisiana sports history.
Everyone questioned conceded that if it were any other player in question, they’d be willing to part ways and not feel any angst about the situation at all.
But with Brees, it’s different, because he’s a legend — a prolific figure in Louisiana sports history.
Houma native Russell Boudreaux said it would be “awful” to see Brees playing in another uniform, adding that he’d rather overpay him than have him compete for another team.
Thibodaux native Carla Banks agreed, adding that she hopes the final resolution sees Brees end his career with the Saints — the place she said the quarterback belongs.
“He’s ours,” she said. “We love him and we need him here with us. He’s our quarterback. He needs to be on our team as long as he is willing to be.”
