Drew Brees was just enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after one of the greatest quarterbacking careers we’ve ever seen. Over 20 years in the league, Brees accumulated over 80,000 passing yards and 571 passing touchdowns, both of which rank second all-time behind the one and only Tom Brady.

During Brees’s peak, he was the most prolific passer the NFL has ever seen. His five 5,000-yard seasons are more than any other quarterback in NFL history – no other quarterback has done it more than twice – and he has the most seasons with 30+ passing touchdowns. At his peak, nobody was touching him statistically, but maybe the most impressive part of his career was how well he played down the stretch.

Everyone knows about Brees’s injury in 2006 that almost caused him to never play football again. If it were not for first-year Head Coach Sean Payton, who was desperate to find a quarterback in his first year coaching the New Orleans Saints, Brees may never have gotten a second chance. But after surgery, Brees was able to play again, though he always knew his shoulder was going to go out eventually.

That seemed to happen in 2017. After a 5,000-yard season in 2018, Brees never threw for more than 4,300 yards again, and only had one 4,000-yard season over his final four years in the league. But he adapted, and instead of trying to rack up yards, he accepted the limitations of his shoulder and became the most accurate quarterback in NFL history, completing over 70 percent of his throws in each of his last five seasons.

If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about performing into their 40s, it’s Drew Brees, so when he says he thinks Matthew Stafford, who is 37, still has some of his best years ahead of him, you have to listen.

Drew Brees Thinks Matthew Stafford’s Best Years Are Ahead of Him

After Brees’s Hall of Fame enshrinement, he spoke exclusively to EssentiallySports about his career. During the interview, Brees talked about how he believes a quarterback’s prime actually starts around 35, and that’s why he thinks Matthew Stafford had such a great year and still has a few more ahead of him.

“The guys that are in their late 30s, think about how much football they’ve seen and experienced. You’re not going to throw much at them that they can’t handle or that they don’t have an answer for immediately,” Brees explained. “It’s just ingrained in them because of all that time on task. When you can matchup the physical abilities that you have with this knowledge, experience, and wisdom, that’s when you’re riding at this level of elite, and that’s where (Matthew) Stafford is.

“I told Matthew Stafford directly that he could have three or four of the best years of his career coming up,” Brees continued. “He’s been dealing with the back that he had last offseason, so again, this is all barring an injury…The young guys are invincible in terms of their athleticism and what they can put their bodies through, but they just don’t have the experience yet. Those veteran guys, they have it all.”

Stafford won the MVP at age 37, so it’s scary to think what he could do over the next few years if he only gets better from here.

How Recent NFL Greats Have Performed at 35

Ever since Matthew Stafford joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, he’s completely revitalized his career. In Detroit, he was always known as someone who could put up big numbers, but he wasn’t a winner. But over the last five years, he’s won a Super Bowl, an MVP, and has continued to put up numbers.

Brees claims that a quarterback’s prime starts around 35 years old, and there are numbers to back it up. Here’s how some of the recent great quarterback have performed in their age-35 season.

* – Manning missed his entire age-35 season with a neck injury, so his stats are from his age-36 season.

Honestly, a lot of these guys only got better as they passed the 35-year mark. Brees went on to throw for 5,000+ yards and 37 touchdowns the following season. Brady would throw for 4,000+ in nine of the next 10 seasons, including a 5,000-yard season at age 44. Rodgers went on to win back-to-back MVPs at 36 and 37. And Manning would set the NFL record for most passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single season at age 36.

Stafford had a pretty disappointing age-35 season, throwing for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns with 11 picks, but it seems like he’s entering that stage of his career Brees talked about. In 2025, at age 37, Stafford won the NFL MVP award after leading the league in passing yards (4,707) and passing touchdowns (46) in a year where passing stats around the league were down. And with the Rams getting even better this offseason, Stafford should be able to have a pretty similar year where he’s clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Brees saying a QB’s prime is their late 30s may sound crazy, but it’s really not. There is plenty of evidence to back up his claim, and if Stafford follows the trend set by Brees, Brady, and others and continues to get better, the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl this year.