Drew Christopher Brees (pronounced /ˈbriːs/;[1] born January 15, 1979) is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. He was also selected by voters to appear on the cover of Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 11.[2] Sports Illustrated named him as its 2010 Sportsman of the Year.[3] Contents 1 High school 2 College career 3 Notable awards 4 Professional career 4.1 San Diego Chargers 4.1.1 2001 NFL Draft 4.1.2 Early career 4.1.3 2005 4.2 New Orleans Saints 4.2.1 2006 4.2.2 2007 4.2.3 2008 4.2.4 2009 Super Bowl Season 4.2.5 ! 2010 4.2.6 2011 4.3 Career statistics 4.4 Records 4.4.1 National Football League records 4.4.2 New Orleans Saints franchise records 4.4.3 San Diego Chargers franchise records 4.4.4 Other notable accomplishments 5 Personal life 6 Charity and volunteer activities 7 See also 8 References 9 External links [edit] High school Brees was selected as Texas High School 5A Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1996 and led the Westlake High School football team to 16-0 record and state championship.[4] As a high school football player, Brees completed 314 of 490 passes (64.1 percent) for 5,461 yards with 50 touchdowns including, in his senior season, 211 of 333 passes (63.4 percent) for 3,528 yards with 31 touchdowns.[5] Westlake went 28-0-1 when Brees started for two seasons and beat Abilene Cooper High School 55-15 in the 1996 title game.[5][6] [edit] College career Brees graduated from Purdue University with a degree in industrial management.[7] He left Purdue with Big Ten Conference r! ecords in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total! offensi ve yards (12,693), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678) . He led the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl, Purdue's first appearance there since 1967. In the game Purdue lost by ten points to the Washington Huskies. Brees was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback in 1999. He won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player of 2000 and won the NCAA's Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2001. Brees was also fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1999 and third in 2000. Brees also set an NCAA record with the longest pass ever (99 yards), to receiver Vinny Sutherland against Northwestern on September 25, 1999 As a senior, Brees was named the Academic All-America Player of the Year, the first Purdue player since Bruce Brineman (1989) to earn national academic honors. Brees also was awarded Purdue's Leonard Wilson Award for unselfishness and dedication. To continue his education and improve his ability to pursue r! easoned business ventures and opportunities, Brees also attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business for NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurship in 2008. [edit] Notable awards Outback Bowl MVP Alamo Bowl MVP Big Ten Football MVP (2000) Maxwell Award (2000) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2004) NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2008) MVP (Super Bowl XLIV) (2010) [edit] Professional career [edit] San Diego Chargers [edit] 2001 NFL Draft Brees' college success led to projections that he would be a mid-to-late first round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, but he slipped due to concerns about his relatively short stature for a professional quarterback (6'0"), a perceived lack of arm strength, and a sense that he had succeeded in college in a system designed for him. Ultimately, Brees was the second quarterback selected in the 2001 draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the first pick of the second round.[8] San Diego originally had the first pick in that draft, bu! t traded it to Atlanta (which used it to draft Michael Vick) i! n return for the fifth pick of the first round, with which San Diego drafted LaDainian Tomlinson.[8] [edit] Early career Brees played in his first professional game on November 4, 2001 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He had won the starting job over Doug Flutie during training camp before the start of the 2002 season. Brees started all 16 games for the Chargers during the 2002 season, leading the team to an 8-8 record. After a disappointing start to the 2003 season he was replaced by Flutie. Brees' career with the Chargers was put in jeopardy after San Diego acquired NC State's Philip Rivers. After the trade, it was almost certain Brees' days as the Chargers' starting QB were over. However, Rivers held out nearly all of training camp. Brees therefore remained the starter throughout the 2004 season, where he started every game and led the team to a 12-4 regular season record. The Chargers won the AFC West and Brees was selected to the 2004 NFL Pro Bowl. He was named 2004 NFL Comeback! Player of the Year. [edit] 2005 Brees became a free agent after the season and was not expected to return to San Diego, which had already committed a large sum of money to Rivers. The team eventually designated Brees a franchise player, giving him a one-year contract that quadrupled his pay to $8 million for 2005. Under the terms of the franchise player contract, Brees was eligible to be traded or sign with another team, but the Chargers would receive two future first round draft choices in return. He was not traded and continued as starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2005 season. Brees continued his productive play in 2005, as he posted a career high in passing yards with 3,576. Brees also posted an 89.2 rating, 10th best in the NFL. However, in the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees tore his labrum while trying to pick up his own fumble after being hit by Broncos safety John Lynch. Denver tackle Gerard Warren hit Brees while he was o! n the ground, causing the injury. Brees underwent arthroscopic! surgery , performed by Dr. James Andrews, to repair the torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder on January 5, 2006. Subsequent reports mentioned additional rotator cuff damage and he also was treated by Dr. Saby Szajowitz to recover and regain muscle movement. Brees was selected as first alternate to the AFC Pro Bowl team for the 2005 season. He would have played in his second consecutive Pro Bowl due to the injury to starter Carson Palmer, but his own injury dictated that the AFC Pro Bowl roster would have to be filled by second alternate Jake Plummer. After the season, the Chargers offered Brees a 5-year, $50 million contract that paid $2 million in base salary the first year and the rest heavily based on performance incentives. Brees evaluated the incentive-based offer as a sign of no confidence by the Chargers and promptly demanded the salary a top 5 "franchise" quarterback would receive. [edit] New Orleans Saints After the Chargers refused to increase their offer, Brees me! t with other teams. The New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins were interested. New Orleans made an offer that included $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year. Miami was unsure if Brees' shoulder was completely healed and doctors suggested the team not sign him because of the injury.[9] The Dolphins ended negotiations and traded for Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper instead. Brees signed a 6-year, $60 million deal with the Saints on March 14, 2006. [edit] 2006 Brees had a productive first year with the Saints, as the team, under first-year head coach Sean Payton, rebounded from its disastrous 2005 season (when the team was unable to play in New Orleans due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and struggled to a 3–13 record) to finish with a 10–6 regular season record and won the NFC South division title. Brees threw a league-leading 4,418 passing yards, finished third in the league with 26 touchdown passes and! 11 interceptions and a 96.2 passer rating. Brees was named st! arting q uarterback for the NFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl. On January 5, 2007, Brees was named first runner-up behind former teammate Tomlinson for league MVP by the Associated Press. Brees and Tomlinson were co-recipients of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. On January 13, 2007, in his first playoff game for New Orleans, Brees was 20–32 in passing attempts with 1 touchdown and no interceptions against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints held on to win 27–24, and advanced to the franchise's first NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears. Though he completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards against the Chicago Bears, and two touchdowns, Brees committed three costly turnovers, and was penalized for an intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety, as the Saints lost 39–14.[10] Brees then dislocated his left elbow during the first quarter of the Pro Bowl. [edit] 2007 The following season Brees passed for 4423 yards and tied a then tea! m record with 28 touchdowns. He also set the NFL record previously held by Rich Gannon for pass completions in a single season with 440. However, the Saints missed the playoffs. [edit] 2008 Brees passes the ball during a 2008 away game against the Washington Redskins. In 2008, the Saints again missed the playoffs but Brees had a strong year statistically, finishing 15 yards short of the NFL record for passing yards thrown in a single season set by Dan Marino in 1984. He finished the season with 5,069 yards and became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season.[11] He passed for 300 yards ten times during the season, tying Rich Gannon's 2002 record. He was named FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performances during weeks 8 and 12 and was named the AP 2008 Offensive Player of the Year.[12] [
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Drew Christopher Brees (born January 15, 1979) is a quarterback for the New Orlea! ns Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers Read the rest
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