Why did Super Bowl champion Drew Brees retire?
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced his retirement in March 2021 at the age of 42. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback actually had his children announce his retirement in a video posted to his official Instagram account.
In the caption, he stated that he gave everything he had to the game of football and the city of New Orleans. He also vowed not to stop working with the New Orleans community.
"I am only retiring from playing football, I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not goodbye, rather a new beginning. Now my real life‘s work begins!"
After 20 seasons in the NFL that saw the quarterback bring a Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans, he decided to call it a career.
Was it that Father Time finally caught up with the quarterback? In 2019 and 2020, he missed several games due to injury. In his final season, it was a rib injury that saw him away from the field for five games. Those two seasons also saw him throw for under 3,000 yards each.
The quarterback said that his commitment to himself and the team was only if he could continue playing at a high level.
He said that it was the injuries that he suffered in two consecutive seasons that caused him to rethink his playing career. Moreover, spending more time with his family was the main goal.
Brees finished his NFL career with 80,358 passing yards, 571 passing touchdowns, 752 rushing yards, and 25 rushing touchdowns. His overall regular season record was 172-114.
What did Drew Brees do after he retired from the NFL?
Drew Brees ventured into the broadcasting booth, where he was a color analyst with NBC Sports for college gameday, mostly calling Notre Dame games. He also commentated on the Sunday Night Football pre-game show. After just one season, though, he decided that broadcasting wasn't where he wanted to spend his post-NFL career.
For perspective: Aaron Rodgers is 39 this season.
Drew Brees was 39 in the 2018 season. That’s the year he went on national TV and had a 4-TD game with passes to:
- Dan Arnold
- Austin Carr
- Tommylee Lewis
- Keith Kirkwood twitter.com/crimealytics/s…
Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2005, just after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city and the surrounding area. He and the Saints brought relief to the city, not only through their success on the field but also through their work in helping the community rebuild.
The Saints made the 2020-21 postseason with a 9-3 record. However, after falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Championship, the quarterback decided that it was time for the next chapter of his life.