It’s been a long road for the Saints and Drew Brees to get to this point, and it looks like New Orleans has their quarterback questions answered through 2017.
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Before the deal was finalized on Wednesday, Brees was set to play the 2016 season under the terms of a five-year, 0 million contract that he signed in July 2012.
And though the deal is only guaranteed for two years, Brees said he plans to play longer and acknowledged that he wanted a contract reflecting that but added this deal “was in the best interest of the team”. He still puts up numbers but the Saints have managed 3 7-9 records over the past 4 seasons which leads many to believe that their magical run has just about ran it’s course.
The contract also has a no-trade clause, and bars the Saints from using the franchise tag on Brees in 2018 – so they’ll have to pay up big to keep him, again.
“I’ll be here as long as they’ll have me”, Brees said Wednesday after signing his new deal.
Brees is already the franchise leader in every major passing statistic in team history, and led New Orleans to their only Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season.
“I support our players when they want to see change in society, and we don’t live in a flawless society”, Goodell added. “In the National Football League, whenever you see 5, 6 year contracts, it’s really cut it in half, and in this case, a little further”.
When the dust settles on the 2016 regular season, the NFC South champion will not be the Saints.
And at the same time, Brees can decide if New Orleans is still the place he wants to finish out his career.
Drew Brees agrees to a short-term extension with the Saints. A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press it guarantees the record-setting QB $44.3 million the next two years.
If an agreement is reached and Brees is able to get an extension, then his goal of retiring as a Saint may finally come to fruition.
If anyone with the Saints is overpaid, it is Payton, a 14-18 coach the last two years making $8 million a year, not Brees.
Last season, Brees’ 10 as a Saint, was one of his best.
Brees is now fourth in all-time passing yards with 60,903 yards and third in passing touchdowns with 428.
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So this is the best-case scenario for the Saints, who can now allow their future Hall of Fame quarterback to work without distractions for the entirety of his age-37 season.
