Drew Brees

Drew Christopher Brees is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is second all-time in career passing yards, career touchdown passes, career pass completions, and career completion percentage. Brees also holds the record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass, breaking the record held by Johnny Unitas for 52 years. He is regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Brees played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he set the Big Ten Conference records for completions, attempts, and yards. Due to questions over his height and arm strength, he was not selected until the second round of the 2001 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. Brees initially struggled before having a breakout season in 2004, earning him Pro Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year honors. Re-signed to a one-year contract, Brees suffered a potentially career-ending injury the following season, which resulted in the Chargers allowing him to leave in free agency. Joining the Saints, he brought new success to a franchise that had only seven winning seasons, five playoff appearances, and one postseason win during the 39 years prior to his arrival. From 2006 to 2020, Brees led the Saints to nine playoff appearances, seven division titles (including four consecutive from 2017 to 2020), three NFC Championship Game appearances, and the franchise's first title in Super Bowl XLIV, earning him the game's MVP award. By the conclusion of his 15 seasons in New Orleans, Brees had extended his total Pro Bowl selections to 13 and was twice named Offensive Player of the Year. He also led the NFL in passing yards a record seven times. Brees retired after the 2020 season and spent the following year as an analyst on NBC Sunday Night Football. He returned to Purdue as an interim assistant football coach in 2022.