After 20 seasons in the NFL, the last 15 with the New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees considered it a career. 13 times Pro Bowler, a former Super Bowl champion and holder of a perennial record, the 42-year-old quarterback announced on Sunday that he played his last loss in competitive football.
Although many assumed that the playoff defeat of the Saints ‘divisional round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the final game of Brees’ infallible career in the Hall of Fame, Brees waited two more months before officially announcing his retirement. Brees announced his retirement through a post on his Instagram account.
“Each day, I poured out my heart and soul to be your defender. Until the end, I got tired of giving everything I had to the organization of Saints, my team and the great city of New Orleans, ”he wrote. “I am just retiring from football, I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not goodbye, it is a new beginning. Now my real life work begins!”
Brees alluded to the possibility of retiring after the January playoff loss to Tampa Bay. The loss marked the fourth consecutive playoff loss to Santos and the third consecutive playoff loss at home.
“I have always tried to play this game with great respect and reverence for him,” Brees told reporters after the defeat. “I appreciate everything that this game has given me. Obviously, there are so many incredible memories, so many incredible relationships that have arisen as a result of playing this game. And you find out a lot about yourself and you have to fight a lot when you play this game. And I I would say that this season, I probably had to fight more than I have ever had in any other season in my career, from injuries to all things in COVID and crazy circumstances. (But) it was worth every moment. “
Brees, who remained on the lawn of the Superdome after the defeat talk to veteran colleague Tom Brady, leaves the NFL as one of the most signal-consuming in the league’s history. A second-round pick from the San Diego Chargers in 2001, the Purdue product turns off football boots as the all-time leader of the NFL in career pass yards, completions and completion percentage, not to mention five All-Pro distinctions, two Players offensive of the year and the Super Bowl XLIV MVP.
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Brees shone with the Chargers during the first five seasons of his career, peaking in 2004 with a campaign of 27 touchdowns to help San Diego finish 12-4. He will be best remembered, however, for redefining his legacy in New Orleans, which hired him in 2006 after a season lost to a torn labrum and had 15 years of QB production arguably the most stable in the entire NFL. From 2006-2018, Brees lost just two games to the Saints, seven times leading the league in passing yards, five times over the 5,000 yard mark and 10 times throwing at least 30 touchdowns.
Injuries have hurt Brees during his last two seasons with New Orleans, as the veteran lost five games in 2019 and another four in 2020, but his numbers almost never dropped from the time he debuted with the Saints until the time he said goodbye to the superdome. In nine of his 12 final NFL seasons, Brees posted a passer rating above 100, recording a career record of 116.3 in 2019. He was undoubtedly the main reason for New Orleans’s post-season consistency under the coach Sean Payton, helping guide the Saints to nine different playoff appearances and captained the franchise to their first Super Bowl victory in 2009, defeating Peyton Manning and the Colts.
This story originally appeared on CBSSports.com.