Posturing in the media has become a part of any contract negotiations, but the Saints general manager crossed the line this week. Superstar quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints are said to be $5 million apart on salary for Brees’ new contract, and the record-breaking quarterback would become a free agent on March 13 if there isn’t a new agreement in place. It appears more and more likely that the Saints will place a franchise tag on Brees before the deadline to ensure that he will be a Saint next season while they continue to work on his new deal.
Brees is reportedly seeking Peyton Manning money, whose contract averaged $23 million per year for the first three years. The full five year average for both Manning and Brady is closer to $18 million, so the difference seems to be on the front-end loading of the first few years of Brees’ new deal.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis referred to Brees this week as a “very good” quarterback, when asked a question about Brees wanting to be paid as a “great” quarterback. Very good?
Regardless of the contract negotiations, Loomis’ comments need to be retracted. The Saints currently have a public relations nightmare with former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ Bounty-Gate scandal. Throwing your All Star quarterback and Face of the Franchise under the bus is wrong at any time, and the move couldn’t be timed any worse.
Is Drew Brees a great quarterback? There’s no question about it. He’s one of the top three quarterbacks in the league and has been for the past five years. With Peyton Manning currently on the sidelines recovering from his injury, you have Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers… then everybody else.
It was a favorite topic of Super Bowl conversation to debate whether or not Eli Manning was “elite,” but you wouldn’t get any argument putting Brees in that context… except, apparently, from the Saints general manager.
Brees shattered Dan Marino’s 27-year old single season passing yardage mark this past season, throwing for 5,476 yards, averaging over 340 yards per game. Brees has two of the four highest single season passing yardage marks in NFL history. At age 32, he has already thrown for over 40,000 yards and is 11th on the all time passing yardage list. Incidentally, he passed Joe Montana for 11th place this season.
Plus, it is likely that no player matters more to his team and the city he plays in than Brees does in New Orleans. Arriving in the city after it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, Brees turned the football program around and gave the fans something to cheer about. He works tirelessly in the community on various charity projects.
The Saints need to get something down before they generate any more ill will with Brees. Particularly in light of the Williams scandal, the Saints need to focus on moving forward. Williams is already gone, as he took a job as defensive coordinator with the Rams pending any actions by the league, and the team needs to keep the greatest player in New Orleans history in a Saints uniform for years to come. Some unsolicited advice for GM Loomis – get the deal done and don’t throw rocks at your franchise player. Particularly with skeletons lurking in your own closet.
