While he surely misses the game, New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees still gets to be a quarterback, just on a new team.
The future Pro Football Hall of Famer is one of the leaders of the Verizon Small Business Training Camp, along with Kristin Juszczyk, the wife of San Francisco 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk.
Brees still uses the same approach in the Verizon Small Business Training Camp as he did with the Saints and then-San Diego Chargers before that.
“At the end of the day, leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire and bring out the best in others,” Brees explained. “And so that's what you're trying to do as an entrepreneur. A lot of entrepreneurs may start off by themselves, but at some point, you have to build a team. Everybody has their role and function, and all that needs to work collaboratively together. That's basically what being a quarterback of a team is.”
Additionally, Brees cites “building culture” as another key part of his responsibilities. He strives to create a “work environment where everybody loves to come and work; they love to be challenged.”
He looks for the same competitive fire that he looked for in teammates. Entrepreneurs start their business to fill a need, and the “pursuit is what brings a ton of satisfaction.”
Does Drew Brees miss playing football?
Of course, the question on most people's minds when talking to a legendary quarterback like Brees is whether or not he misses the game. He left as the NFL's leader in several passing categories, and he will soon be immortalized in Canton.
However, Brees has found ways to fill that void, including leading the Verizon Small Business Training Camp. He still gets to quarterback a team, but it's less physically taxing. Plus, he is coaching high school football and doing things with his alma mater, Purdue.
“I'll be at the Purdue-USC game this weekend [on Saturday, Sept. 13] and the Saints game [on Sunday, Sept. 14], so I still watch and am involved behind the scenes in a lot of different ways,” Brees explained.
Jumping into the booth
If you can believe it, Brees is “busier now” than when he was in the NFL. It keeps his mind off the itch to get back on the gridiron, and he is able to maintain his love for the game.
Brees' broadcast career began when he signed a deal with NBC Sports in 2020. He spent one season in the booth for Notre Dame football and as a Sunday Night Football contributor, but it didn't work out. The future Hall of Famer has since learned from that experience and is getting more opportunities to call NFL games.
Pretty soon, he will be announcing for Netflix's upcoming Christmas Day broadcasts, working with Noah Eagle for a matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in Minnesota. The NFL returns to Netflix after its successful 2024 Christmas games.
Brees did a great job in 2024, but he's a quarterback, so he's used to getting good (and bad) feedback. He aimed to bring insight to the international audiences checking in on the Netflix broadcasts.
“We [he and Scott Hansen] were talking through a lot of what was happening on the field, doing different levels of analysis,” he said. “You think about the international audience, and you're gonna have a group of people that are watching the game for the first time. Then you're gonna have some folks that are avid NFL fans, and so the ability for you to dial it up, dial it down in regards to how complex you get with some of the analysis.
“In a lot of cases, giving some very basic fundamentals about the NFL game and talking through players and profiles and matchups and rivalries and that sort of thing is a lot of fun. I think that's something that resonates with everybody. But you want them to walk away from that experience feeling like they learned a lot and it was really insightful and fun to listen to,” he continued.
Does Brees believe in the Saints' Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough?
Brees is high on the Saints heading into 2025. Granted, we spoke after their Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. They have since lost to the San Francisco 49ers, who were starting backup quarterback Mac Jones.
“It was a very competitive offseason,” Brees said. “You get a new head coach [Kellen Moore] who's coming in trying to evaluate his personnel, and they had what I thought was a pretty successful draft and free agency. They still have a ton of solid veteran guys on defense.”
He is a believer in the offense regardless of who's under center. Brees praised the Saints for having “one of the best offensive lines in football” paired with “[some] of the most dynamic running backs and receivers in football.”
Spencer Rattler ended up winning the starting quarterback job. Rookie Tyler Shough will be the backup for the foreseeable future. In his first game of the season, Rattler was shaky. He had 214 passing yards on 46 attempts, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt. He didn't score any touchdowns.
“Spencer Rattler made some great plays during the game [against the Cardinals].” Brees praised. “Obviously, it didn't result in the win, but down the stretch, they had an opportunity, a two-minute drive. [On] the second to last play of the game, he threw what was, in my mind, a perfect high back-shoulder seam to the tight end [Juwan Johnson] that unfortunately [he] just couldn't come down with.”
However, in Week 2, Rattler stepped up his game. He completed 73.5% of his passes and threw 207 yards. He also threw three touchdown passes with no interceptions.
Brees sees the “clutch” gene in Rattler. “I think he's got all the traits to be a really good quarterback with experience,” Brees concluded.
How did Drew Brees feel retiring from the NFL atop the record books?
When Brees stepped away from the game, he was the leader in several passing categories, such as passing yards and completions. He passed Peyton Manning for the most touchdown passes and yards before Tom Brady eventually overtook both of them. Brady had to play several more years than the other guys, but he is now the leader.
One would think quarterbacks would be protective of these records. However, it didn't seem to bother Brees that Brady eventually broke his records. At least he got to hold it over Manning and Brady for a little while.
“Look, I had to catch all those guys,” explained Brees. “I had to catch Tom, I had to catch Peyton. So, I was just focusing on winning games, and the numbers take care of themselves if you play long enough. It just happened to be that all of those [record-breaking] moments were on some of the biggest stages, you know, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, we're breaking every passing record known to man. So that made it fun.”
Once you break the records, the pressure is off, and you can go back to having fun. As Brees put it, you're setting a new record with every yard you gain or touchdown you throw.
It was motivating for his teammates. “It was fun to remind guys that every time we stepped on the field, we're gonna do something that's never been done before,” Brees recalled. “I think that led to a lot of incredible moments, games, and putting up some big numbers.”
Now, Brees is trying to do something never seen before with his entrepreneurs. He is one of the greatest of all time on the field. He is now pursuing GOAT status with his off-field ventures.
