No Progress Between Saints, Drew Brees

Quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints still aren’t progressing toward a contract extension, the 37-year-old revealed Wednesday.

“Obviously, there’s nothing to report right now. Focused on football, and we’ll see where it leads prior to the season,” said Brees (via Joel Erickson of the New Orleans Advocate).

With the regular season nearing, it seems time is running out for the two sides to reach an agreement. Brees already made it clear in May that he doesn’t want to engage in negotiations during the season. Thus, if there isn’t a deal by Week 1, he could potentially be in his final season with the Saints. Nevertheless, general manager Mickey Loomis isn’t worried.

“Lots of players play into the last year of their contract,” Loomis said before training camp. “It happened the last time with us, not a preference … but nothing unusual.”

As Loomis alluded to, the Saints and Brees have fought over a contract in the past. After the 2011 season, the club placed the franchise tag on Brees before eventually inking him to a five-year, $100MM pact in July 2012. The tag might not be an option next winter, however, as using it on Brees would cost the Saints $43.2MM. As consistently great as Brees has been, that would obviously represent an unpalatable figure for the organization. As things stand, Brees is set to count a quarterback-leading $30MM against New Orleans’ cap this season and haul in $19.75MM – the second-highest base salary for a signal-caller.

During his 10-year run in New Orleans, the ex-Charger has missed just two games, led the Saints to a 94-64 regular-season record, five playoff appearances, and a Super Bowl title to conclude the 2009-10 campaign. Along the way, Brees has thrown 348 touchdowns, amassed three 5,000-yard seasons, made eight Pro Bowls, and established himself as both the Saints’ all-time best player and a shoo-in for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.