Drew Brees Still High on His Broadcasting Future

The former quarterback spoke to Front Office Sports about getting another chance.
Drew Brees would love to get another shot at the broadcasting booth.
Drew Brees would love to get another shot at the broadcasting booth. / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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Drew Brees' initial foray into broadcasting did not meet high expectations, but he has confidence that he could crush it if given another opportunity.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback, who joined NBC Sports in 2020 after retiring from the NFL, was considered by some to be NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth's successor-in-waiting, but his stint did not go particularly well—culminating in a rough playoff outing when he served as an analyst on Peacock.

In an interview with Front Office Sports, Brees believes that another opportunity might end with higher marks and more success.

“I think I could be the absolute best at it, if given the opportunity,” Brees said on Friday’s episode of FOS Today. “I valued my time at NBC so much, for that year after I played, I spent most of that time in-studio on Sunday Night Football, having to work with some incredible people. But I didn’t really get the chance to broadcast NFL games. And that’s what I feel like I’m most qualified to do. That’s what I feel like I’m most passionate about. And certainly where my knowledge base lies, right? Telling the story of the game, getting you inside the huddle, getting you inside the quarterback’s head, letting you know how we’re attacking this defense. That to me is something I’d love to do down the road when the time is right.”

A lot has changed in four years. Ex-quarterback Peyton Manning has built something impressive with Omaha Productions without relying on traditional broadcasting. Another of Brees' contemporaries, Tom Brady, will make his much-anticipated analyst debut on Sunday for FOX. One could argue that the broadcast analyst field has never been this talented or this deep.

So on one hand it seems tough to imagine Brees getting another high-profile chance—largely in part because it's so competitive and companies want immediate lightning in a bottle. But on the other it's seems unfortunate that such a small sample size at the beginning would prevent another a new network from taking a chance.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.