Drew Brees will be headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in no time. But he might be headed to Hollywood before then. Months after acknowledging his uncertain future, the retired longtime Saints quarterback spoke with CBS Sports this week, exclusively revealing that he could soon return to the field ... for the movies.
After a year as an NFL analyst for NBC Sports, the 43-year-old Brees is starring alongside his three boys in a new ad for Great Clips, promoting the salon's back-to-school campaign. Asked recently if he's more likely to take another NFL snap or fully pivot to an acting career, the 13-time Pro Bowler floated an alternative.
"Well I don't think I'll be taking a -- well, how about this? How about I take a snap under center, but in a movie?" Brees said. "How about that? Then I can accomplish both."
Asked if a movie is already in the works, the former Super Bowl champion didn't deny the possibility.
"I don't know," he said with a smile. "I don't know. Maybe so. We'll see. It's a teaser here."
Brees' comments come less than a year after Rams legend Kurt Warner took his NFL story to the big screen with American Underdog, and days after Buccaneers star Tom Brady spoke about playing himself in an upcoming comedy. Is it possible Brees is plotting a spin-off to the former, following his rise from Chargers castoff to Saints icon?
"Part Two, there you go," he joked.
Catch Cody Benjamin's entire sit-down with Drew Brees, in which the former QB discusses today's passers, parenting advice, and more:
One familiar face who'd be welcome on his movie set: Sean Payton, who stepped down after 16 seasons as Saints head coach this year but is already entertaining a return to the sidelines.
"Sean's gonna have a lot of options, whether it's talking about football or coaching football again," Brees said. "I'm sure he's gonna take it one step at a time. I'm sure he's enjoying the opportunity to not be grinding, getting ready for training camp. He's probably on the golf course with friends and family, just enjoying this time as he should. But there's a lot of football left in Sean Payton, I'm sure."
Brees, meanwhile, is enjoying his own downtime at home. With or without a future move to the big screen, the veteran signal-caller has embraced fatherhood with his "wolf pack" of four kids, three of whom appear alongside him in the Great Clips ad. His eyes will also remain trained on the NFL, where he's particularly interested to see what unfolds with the Raiders.
"They're in arguably the toughest division in football -- the Chargers with (Justin) Herbert, the Chiefs with (Patrick) Mahomes, and now you've got the Broncos with Russell Wilson," he said. "But man, that whole division, every game is gonna be like must-watch TV."
And if the phone ever rings for his own services, perhaps if Payton himself wants an old friend back as his QB?
"Yeah, I'm sure he would," Brees said with a laugh, "but I don't know if this arm -- this arm might have different ideas."
