Brees Hopeful About Contract Extension

Added on Jan 20, 2012 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Drew Brees may have fallen short of the Super Bowl, but he’s hoping to score a big payday this offseason via a contract extension with the New Orleans Saints. In fact, both he and head coach Sean Peyton have indicated that they’d be shocked if he *didn’t* work out a new deal with the team.

Brees insists that his new deal won’t prevent the Saints from surrounding him with the talent necessary to contend for a championship:

“My No. 1 priority, and it always has been this, is keeping our team together and making sure we have the right guys in the right positions to make a run at this for a long time. We all kind of work together on this thing.”

“Put it this way: I’m not worried one bit about my contract or our ability to keep guys at key positions.”

He is realistic enough to expect some turnover:

“Is it realistic to think we can keep absolutely everybody? I don’t know how realistic that is just because every year on a team there’s turnover and I think that’s just the business we’re in.”

“That’s the biggest reason why it’s so sad when the season ends. It’s not because the season is over and you don’t get to play anymore games or you know you’re not going to win a championship that year. The biggest sadness comes in because you’re looking around the room and you know that there’s guys you’ve become very close to that you might not be playing with anymore.”

Brees is clearly in a strong bargaining position coming off a record breaking season, though he insists that the disappointment of an early playoff exit has prevented him from enjoying his accomplishments:

“I haven’t been able to enjoy it yet to be honest with you. It’s been tough this week. I really have tried not to turn on the TV. It’s hard not to think about what could have been. But you know what? I take solace in the fact that we fought our heart out, we gave it our best and you know what? It just wasn’t meant to be.

“If we’re not playing for a championship, I guess there’s no place I’d rather be than going to Hawaii for a week with the family and be able to enjoy the Pro Bowl and be around other guys that have earned that trip. And maybe that’s going to be the time to decompress and reflect back on the season a little bit, but for now it still stings.”