As Drew Brees spoke this week about his induction into the New Orleans Saints team Hall of Fame, it had the feeling of a retirement press conference.
That's due, in part, to the fact that Brees never actually had one. His final career game was played in front of fewer than 10,000 fans at the Caesars Superdome. His final post-game presser was held on a Zoom call. His retirement announcement was a combination of an Instagram video and an interview with Ellen Degeneres.
So when Brees spoke to the assorted media, Saints officials, family and several former teammates for about 30 minutes on Thursday, it had a ring of finality to it, even as he repeated what has come to light in the time following his retirement and short-lived stint as a broadcaster.
"I felt like there was a little bit of a lack of closure, you know, and honestly man, if my right arm was still working, I probably would’ve played another 3 years," Brees said. "My body feels great. My body could play, my right arm can’t, and so unfortunately that’s what kind of forced me to step away."
That 2020 retirement is actually what made this week's news possible. Players are eligible for the team Hall of Fame after 3 years away from the game, and the decision to induct the legendary QB this year was a unanimous decision by the voters. It was also determined that Brees would be the sole inductee this year, with multiple names added in most other years. He was joined solely on the day by Doug Moreau, the Saints' longtime press box announcer who was granted the Joe Gemelli "Fleur De Lis" award.
Brees made it clear that the reports in 2021 that he considered a comeback with the Saints QB needy to injuries and COVID absences were very much true. For a few wild moments he considered doing whatever it takes, breaking out the high school playbook, running QB draws, the works. In the end he didn't and he's at peace with the decision. When he throws to the kids in the backyard it's with his left hand.
"Look, I can drop a dime like 30 yards left-handed," he said. "Unfortunately you need a little bit more than that to compete at this level."
In the end it was all about gratitude. Gratitude that the Saints and first-year head coach coach Sean Payton took a chance on a quarterback with a devastating shoulder injury. Gratitude that the city of New Orleans embraced him and his family. Gratitude that all four of his children can call themselves proper New Orleanians. Gratitude for all of the memories, and everything in between.
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"We felt the true calling that we belonged here, and not many opportunities in life do you get a chance to be a part of something so much greater than yourself," Brees said. "It was about resurrecting one of America’s greatest cities and we had a chance to be a part of that and we’re forever changed.”
Brees hit on a variety of subjects during his press conference. Scroll below for some of the top quotes. Looking for Brees' full comments? Click here.
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More on that final game in the Superdome
“I don’t know if there’s ever an easy way to leave the game, right? I mean, I guess unless you’re lifting off the Lombardi trophy and riding off into the sunset, which is what we had all hoped for, you know. But certainly to have it be in a situation like that where you’re not able to really be there with the fans and celebrate with all those who were, you know, so important. ... I try not to think about, you know, like the glance back in the dome, because I wish it would’ve been with a packed house, you know, and just that energy that is so synonymous with the Superdome and that I’ll always remember and what we always fed off of every game there. My image of the dome is much different than that last moment.”
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On still being around the game in retirement
“I retired at 42 years old and I played high-level football for 28 years, 4 high school, 4 college, 20 in the pros. So two-thirds of my life was dedicated to being the best football player I could be, the best quarterback I could be. Every decision you make is in and around those parameters, and even, I mean, my wife knows that, right? Every decision you make, family vacation, it’s all predicated around … the training schedule, the recovery schedule, the practice schedule, the this, the that, and all of a sudden in one second that’s — so like, it’s there, it’ll always be a part of my life and I have a passion for football, I still love the game, I love to coach the game, I love to watch the game, I love to analyze the game, that’ll never leave.
"And so then it’s like, well, where’s the outlet, and every guy faces this. We’ve got Jahri in here coaching now, right, we’ve got Josh Hill scouting now, right. … So it’s, like, it’s always there and you’ve got to feed the flame somehow and like, for me, I worked for NBC for a year and honestly I had such a good time, it was awesome. The only problem was just the travel schedule, I traveled for 26 consecutive weekends and missed all my kids’ games. I’m like, well, I can't do that. That lifestyle doesn’t work right now, and the thing that I wanted to do most that I felt like I could bring the most value in was broadcasting NFL games and it’s the thing I had the least opportunity to do. I was able to do a little bit of college at Notre Dame, just two NFL games broadcasting that were 8 weeks apart and then the studio stuff. But man, I love the game. I would love to broadcast NFL games at some point again. I think I could be the best at it. But otherwise coaching, I love coaching my boys, I love coaching the high school kids, I love coaching 7-on-7.
"I love being a mentor for guys, I probably had five quarterbacks reach out to me this offseason just to talk, to talk about concepts, to talk about the situation they’re in, to talk strategy, to talk life, to talk balance, you know, life balance. I love being in that role … and I hope that that’s, I always want to be a resource for the next generation and I feel like that’s part of our responsibility. We would’ve be where we are without having those guys along the way, and now the baton is passed to us to be that next generation of mentors for the guys that are coming up.”
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When did you start thinking about the Hall of Fame?
“I still don’t. ... Maybe it’s just the gratitude that I have in my heart for the opportunity to play, like, the opportunity to play was enough, because … if you’ve ever experienced a moment where you truly feel like you’re losing it, like it’s being taken away from you, it changes you, and I really thought my career was over 5 years into it. I really thought I may never play again. Put it this way, I had an insurance policy on myself my last year in San Diego, and there came a moment after the surgery where I could’ve taken the insurance policy. ... So here I was facing a career-ending injury and if I never played again, I could collect the insurance policy and it was a good insurance policy, but it was like, so the point being is like I really thought that my career was potentially over and when that happens and then all of a sudden you just get a second chance or another opportunity, you just have so much gratitude in your heart and honestly I feel like gratitude is your secret weapon. It makes you approach every day that much more appreciative, that much more focused, that much more intentional, so that — that was the greatest thing that ever could’ve happened to me.”
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Do any of your contributions stand out most
“You know, there’s ... so many incredible memories. You know, honestly, the best memories were the people and my teammates. I felt like we had something really, really unique here. You always, you know, you talk about, you know, how do you build a great team, well you’ve got to have a great core, right? And when you have a great core that’s what helps define the culture, and then with every team you have pieces that come and go, right, role players or this or that, needs here and there, and they just assimilate into the culture, but the culture is built by the core and I always felt that we just had an incredible core. I think back to the receivers that I had early in my career here, Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore. Like, those four guys for 7 straight years. When has that ever happened anywhere else? ... They inspired us all and certainly made my job a lot easier.
"Our offensive line. I have this, my favorite — one of my favorite pictures in my office, besides that of my kids and my daughter and my wife, you know playing sports or what have you, is this picture of our line from the Super Bowl, right, and I’m just sitting there going down the line, and I’m like, man, [Jermon] Bushrod, [Carl] Nicks, [Jonathan Goodwin], Jahri [Evans], [Jonathan Stinchcomb] and then [Zach] Strief as our jumbo tight end at the time. Obviously he was a mainstay as a starter here for a long time, too, but I mean, those guys inspired me every day, and I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish any of those things without them and it certainly would not have been as enjoyable without them, either. Like, they were the reason that, you know, I wanted to walk in here every day and be my very best, was for guys like that.”
The Saints have yet to decide on an official date for Brees' induction, but it will be held during a home game in the 2024 season.