New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has announced his retirement from the NFL, ending his journey as a player on Sunday after a prolific 20-year career that included one Super Bowl triumph.
Brees retires as the league’s all-time leader in passing yards with 80,358.
His decision, announced on social media, came almost two months after the Saints were eliminated in the playoffs by Tom Brady and the eventual 2021 Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Til the very end I exhausted myself to give everything to the Saints organization, my team and the great City of New Orleans. We shared some amazing moments together, many of which are emblazoned in our hearts and minds and will forever be a part of us,” Brees said.
The 2020 season was Brees’s 15th with the Saints. In 12 regular-season games, he completed more than 70% of his passing attempts for 2.942 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
He missed four games after suffering multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung last November.
Brees said battling through injury and the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic made the season especially rewarding.
His Instagram post included a video featuring his four children, who said: “After 15 years with the Saints and 20 years in the NFL, our dad is finally going to retire. So he can spend more time with us! Yay!!”
Added Brees: “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!”
Brees’s NFL journey began in 2001, when he was taken in the second round of the draft and launched his career with the San Diego Chargers.
In his last game with the Chargers in 2005, Brees suffered a severe shoulder injury that required surgical repair, but he was on the field for the Saints for the opening game of the 2006 campaign, when the city was still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
He led the Saints to the NFC Championship game that season and three years later was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player after piloting the Saints to victory.
Although he never returned to the NFL’s championship showcase, Brees retires not only as the league’s all-time leader in passing yardage but ranking second in touchdown passes with 571 and second in completion percentage at 67.7%.
Brees finished his career with a record of 172-114 as a starting quarterback in the regular season and 9-9 in the playoffs.
He threw for more than 5,000 yards in a season five different times, something no other quarterback has done more than on
