Drew Brees, 42, announces his retirement from the NFL after 20 years

Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the NFL’s leader in career completions and yards passing, has decided to retire after 20 NFL seasons, including his last 15 with New Orleans. 

In an Instagram post, the 43-year-old veteran wrote: ‘After 20 years as a player in the NFL and 15 years as a Saint, it is time I retire from the game of football. 

‘Each day, I poured my heart & soul into being your Quarterback. Til the very end, I exhausted myself to give everything I had 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. 

‘You have molded me, strengthened me, inspired me, and given me a lifetime of memories. My goal for the last 15 years was striving to give to you everything you had given to me and more.

The Instagram post also included an adorable video of his four kids saying: ‘After 15 years in the Saints, and 20 years in the NFL, our dad is finally going to retire, so he can spend more time with us’

Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the podium as head coach Sean Payton looks on after defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) runs off the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts 34-7 on December 16, 2019

‘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!

The Instagram post also included an adorable video of his four kids saying: ‘After 15 years in the Saints, and 20 years in the NFL, our dad is finally going to retire, so he can spend more time with us.’   

The decision comes after the 42-year-old quarterback won nine of 12 regular-season starts while completing 70.5% of his passes in 2020, and then won a wild-card round playoff game before New Orleans’ season ended with a divisional-round loss to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.

Brees missed four games this season with multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. It marked the second straight season Brees had to miss part of a season with an injury after missing just one game because of injury in the previous 13. In 2019, Brees missed five games because of a thumb injury on his throwing hand that required surgery.

Saints coach Sean Payton said Brees had plenty of other injuries or ailments during his Saints tenure, but willed himself to play through them whenever possible.

‘Over the years his durability and availability is quite amazing. I can recall so many of these different injuries,’ Payton said. ‘He’s as courageous and as tough a player as I’ve ever been around.’

Brees is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing with 80,358, although that mark will be under threat next season by 44-year-old Tom Brady, who has 79,204 career yards passing. Brees’ 571 career touchdown passes rank second behind Brady’s 581.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has announced he is retiring from the NFL after 20 years

Brees is seen on the field with Tom Brady, his wife Brittany and two of his children after they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on January 17

Tom Brady tweeted: ‘Congrats my friend on an incredible career. Thank you for the inspiration and dedication on and off the field! Look forward to seeing what’s next’

Brees is pictured with his wife Brittany Brees in this photo he posted on Valentine’s Day

Brees is pictured with his wife Brittany and three of their four children 

While Brees had dropped hints about his intentions, saying he considered himself to be on ‘borrowed time,’ he declined to confirm his plans until now.

His retirement brings an end to a career that came to embody resilience and renewal on multiple levels.

Brees’ most prolific seasons came after he underwent major reconstructive surgery in early 2006 to repair a career-threatening throwing shoulder injury.

He joined the Saints shortly after, at a time when New Orleans was still coping with widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. When Brees moved to New Orleans, he bought and renovated a historic home in the city’s Uptown neighborhood, just a block away from Audubon Park.

The storm had forced the Saints to play all of their 2005 games outside New Orleans, and the Saints finished that season 3-13.

One season later, with then-first-year coach Sean Payton calling plays and Brees executing them, the Saints won 10 regular-season games and a divisional-round playoff game in a rebuilt Superdome – a storybook run that didn’t end until a loss in Chicago in New Orleans’ first ever NFC championship game. That would be the first of nine seasons in which Brees led the Saints to the playoffs.

The New Orleans Saints tweeted a a video montage and wrote: ‘There will never be another Drew Brees’

The New Orleans Saints tweeted a a video montage and wrote: ‘There will never be another Drew Brees.’

The team added: ‘You came to us at our lowest point. You led us to our highest. You represented our state, city, and team with incredible professionalism, class, and toughness. We are forever grateful for the immeasurable impact you and your family had on this city.’

Tom Brady tweeted: ‘Congrats my friend on an incredible career. Thank you for the inspiration and dedication on and off the field! Look forward to seeing what’s next.’