In 20 NFL seasons, Drew Brees handled pressure that few quarterbacks ever face. But the Saints legend admits the FOX broadcast booth is a different test, one where a single slip is replayed, clipped, and debated. Brees knows exactly which mistake he is trying to avoid, and he was candid about the difficulty.
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“That was like lesson number one, back when I came out and broadcast my first couple games in 2021,” Brees said on the Dan Patrick Show. “It’s like when you do this Saints game. My first NFL game was Thanksgiving Saints-Bills. And they were like, ‘Do not say we. You can’t say we. Sorry.’ I was like, ‘That’s gonna be really hard.’ That’s pretty ingrained into the system. But no, I’m going to be a pro.”
After stepping away from the NFL, Brees moved straight into broadcasting. NBC Sports hired him in 2021 as the color analyst for its Notre Dame games, and for Football Night in America, where he shared the booth with play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico.
Later, one of the most criticized moments of Brees’ time in the broadcast booth came during the Raiders-Bengals playoff game in 2022. With 1:51 left in the second quarter, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow scrambled toward the sideline before finding Tyler Boyd for a touchdown. However, officials had blown their whistles just before Burrow released the pass, creating a confusing situation that could have changed how the play was handled.
Mike Tirico immediately addressed the issue on the broadcast, pointing out that Burrow could have been ruled out of bounds before the touchdown. Replays then showed the whistle had come before the pass was thrown, which added another layer to an already unusual sequence. Despite that, the touchdown ruling ultimately stood after a replay review.
It was the kind of complicated officiating moment where an analyst could have helped viewers understand what had happened and why the ruling stood. Tirico walked the audience through the replay and the questions officials were considering, while Brees offered little during the sequence. As a result, Tirico was left to handle much of the explanation as the broadcast spent nearly two minutes breaking down the play.
The moment later became one of the talking points surrounding Brees’ short broadcasting career. Months after the playoff game, Brees and the network went their separate ways on May 15, 2022.
Nevertheless, one beautiful memory Brees could recall is when the Saints found a way to give their legend a proper salute during his broadcasting debut. Brees was calling a game between New Orleans and Buffalo in 2021 for the NBC crew when the team decided to honor him on the field at halftime.
Southern University’s band formed “Brees #9” on the field as the Superdome video boards ran a highlight reel of his most memorable moments. Once Saints owner Gayle Benson brought him out, the crowd roared and then dropped into a long, stretched-out chant of “Dreeew!”
Brees kept his thanks heartfelt.
“We’ve experienced so many unbelievable moments on this field and in this city,” he said. “Thank you so much for loving us, thank you for embracing me and my family. We will always love you, and we will always work to make you proud.”
The moment suited a player who spent 20 seasons in the NFL, the last 15 in New Orleans. His final year was played in front of mostly sparse crowds, since COVID-19 protocols sharply limited how many people could fill stadiums.
When he retired in 2021, Brees was the league’s all-time leader in passing yards with 80,358, a mark Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady has since passed. Brees also sits second in career touchdown passes with 571, behind Brady’s 649.
His story in New Orleans began after a start with the then San Diego Chargers in 2001. He arrived in a city still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and the impact was immediate. The Saints had won just three games in 2005, yet in his first season they finished 10-6 and reached the franchise’s first NFC title game.
That was only the start of nine playoff trips under Brees, a stretch that included one Super Bowl win and three appearances in the NFC Championship Game.
His media career has kept growing since. In September 2025, he joined ESPN’s First Take as a weekly contributor, and by November 2025, FOX had hired him as an NFL game analyst.
He will be providing analysis on NFL broadcasts every week of the 2026 season, and in August, FOX Sports confirmed he would be back in the booth with Adam Amin.
Brees first stepped into the role midway through last season, replacing Mark Sanchez after the former NFL quarterback was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges in Indianapolis. He handled the fill-in job well down the stretch, and now he gets a full run. New Orleans fans should have plenty to look forward to, too.
The Saints have eight games on FOX right now, barring flex scheduling, so there is a good chance fans get more of Brees.