Following the news of Drew Brees's blockbuster five-year, $100 million contract signing yesterday, Drew Brees spoke with only one media outlet Friday evening, conducting an interview with Deke, Bobby, and Zach Strief on WWL Radio.
Make the jump for a link to the full audio, as well as clips from Mike Triplett's extensive article on the signing that posted last night on the nola.com.
In case you missed it, here's the full audio of Drew's appearance on SportsTalk with Bobby and Deke, that aired originally at 6:20 (CST) on WWL Radio last night.
I tuned into the last 15 minutes or so of it, and thoroughly enjoyed hearing homer radio at it's finest with Deke, Bobby and Zach goofing around with Drew. At one point, as Drew's talking, you hear this "Hell, yeah!" come from Bobby just out of nowhere, and then nothing, so I guess a producer zapped his mic and took his beer away from him. And then they threw it over to Zach to comment about Drew, and all Strief said was, "I miss you." Good times.
At around 10:00 EST, Triplett's full article on the contract, including quotes from the WWL Radio interview appeared on nola.com...
If the Saints' first Super Bowl victory earned an "Amen!" then Drew Brees' new contract deserves a "Hallelujah!" The Who Dat Nation can finally exhale after Brees and the Saints agreed to a long-awaited five-year contract worth $100 million, making the 33-year-old quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history.
I also believe "Hallelujah" was among Satch's first words yesterday after reading the news.
"I couldn't be happier or more excited. It's a pretty surreal moment to finally get to this point," Brees said in an interview with WWL radio Friday evening. "I'm just excited to get things started and get back together with all the guys in the locker room. I know the Who Dat Nation is ready as well."
Triplett than gave us some of Loomis's words:
"What Drew has accomplished in his time with the Saints, he deserves to be the highest paid player in the league," Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. "We are excited to have this deal done and behind us and look forward to the next five years with Drew as our quarterback."
Here's just how the money will flow out:
Brees is scheduled to earn a total of $40 million this year, followed by $10 million in 2013, $11 million in 2014, $19 million in 2015 and $20 million in 2016. His salary cap numbers will be $10.4 million, $17.4 million, $18.4 million, $26.4 million and $27.4 million, respectively.
The $40 million this year is fully guaranteed. Then after the 2012 season, the Saints will have a three-day window to release Brees, or else another $15 million will be fully guaranteed. They'll have another three-day window after the 2013 season before another $5 million will be fully guaranteed.
And Drew's take on all that...
Brees, however, insisted Friday that he was never concerned with reaching any kind of symbolic benchmark. He even joked that his face was turning red while the radio hosts rattled off the record figures involved in his deal.
"I can tell you from the start of this negotiation, I never thought once, 'Hey, I want to be the highest-paid guy," Brees said. "It was more about trying to look purely objectively at numbers over the last decade of top-tier quarterbacks, where it's been and where it's going, and trying to do what's fair and justified. ...
"Certainly when you're talking about the type of contract, the type of money that's out there, I think it's very easy to sit back and say, 'This is ridiculous.' But the fact is, I think the desired result was reached. And I think we're all excited about that. Ecstatic. Now it's time to get to work.
"This season cannot start fast enough."
Brees on the turbulent offseason and confidently speaking on what to expect moving forward:
"Here's the thing. It would be very easy for us to make excuses after what the organization and everyone has been through this offseason. But that's never the approach we've taken or will take," Brees said. "We've built up a mindset of, 'We will overcome anything that's put before us.'
"There's always going to be ups and downs, but hang with us, Who Dat Nation, and we'll make you proud."
...and on thoughts of another Saints Super Bowl.
"I know our city could handle a lot of events, but they would go off their rocker if that happened," Brees said. "Listen, I hope that's the case, and that's the mindset that we take every day. That it's going to be a black and gold Super Bowl."
Brees is going to try and lay low for a while, but we'll see how that works out...
Brees, who limited himself to just the one interview in the wake of Friday's news, is scheduled to have a full press conference at the team's practice facility when the Saints report to training camp July 24. The first practice is scheduled for July 26.
Enjoy the day after, everyone!!! Who Dat!?!?!
Oh, and if anyone listened to the radio show live last night, or hits it up today, drop your responses/reactions to it in the comment thread.