Saints’ Drew Brees 27th on Forbes World’s Highest-Paid Athletes of 2019

Forbes recently released their 2019 Top 100 list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes of 2019, which has New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees at 27th overall at $42.4 million total. Seattle’s Russell Wilson was the top football athlete at $89.5 million (good for 6th overall), followed right behind by Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers at $89.3 million.

The ranking involves an athlete’s salary/winnings and endorsements, where Brees ranked 17th overall last year at $42.9 million. Brees was also on Forbes’ Celebrity 100 List of 2018, finishing out at 67th overall. The breakdown for him includes $26.4 million in salaries, with $16M in endorsements. Those sponsors include Wrangler, Microsoft, Nike, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble — and he also owns multiple Jimmy John’s and Dunkin’ franchises. Brees has also invested in food delivery service Waitr and is a co-owner in the Walk-Ons franchise.

Per the Forbes profile excerpt, Brees has earned $220 million in on-field pay across his career, and leads all NFL players in sponsor money ($16 million). Atlanta’s Matt Ryan was the only other NFC South presence to appear on the list, coming in at 60th overall at $29.8 million.