2026 Hall of Fame: Drew Brees helped save the Saints franchise, and the Saints saved his career
Five men will be formally enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio. Yahoo Sports will take a relatively short look at each legend and how he reached football immortality.
In 2006, the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees were both on separate, dangerous paths to NFL extinction.
The year before, Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the Superdome and displaced the Saints for an entire season, forcing the team to play parts of their home schedule in San Antonio. A permanent move to Texas was a consideration, though then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue fought hard against it.
Brees was in limbo too. In the 2005 season finale, he suffered a dislocated shoulder and full labrum tear. He was never known for his arm strength and that was a perilous injury, especially as he entered free agency.
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It's possible no free-agent signing in NFL history was more important than Brees. He helped save the Saints in New Orleans. Brees was instrumental in the rebirth of New Orleans, immediately becoming a familiar face in the community in the aftermath of Katrina. Then he brought the Saints a championship that seemed impossible when he arrived.
And the Saints pushed him on a path toward immortality.
Brees was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a headliner in a fantastic 2026 class. All of New Orleans might go to Canton to see him be inducted. Few players have been more important to a city.
Drew Brees' path to stardom
Brees was a prolific passer at Purdue and a second-round draft pick of the Chargers in 2001. He wasn't great through three seasons with the Chargers, but he started to emerge in his fourth season right after San Diego used a top-10 pick on Philip Rivers. When Brees suffered that huge shoulder injury in the 2005 season finale, it was easy for the Chargers to move on from Brees, whose contract was up.
Famously, the Dolphins and then-head coach Nick Saban looked into signing Brees, but passed due to the shoulder injury. The Saints signed him instead. That changed football history, for Brees, the Saints and eventually the University of Alabama as well after Saban took over the program following his departure from the Dolphins.
Brees teamed with Sean Payton to become one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. He retired as the NFL's all-time leading passer, though he was passed by Tom Brady. Brees had 80,358 yards, and he and Brady are the only members of the 80,000-yard club. Peyton Manning is well behind in third place, with 71,940 yards.
Brees led the NFL in passing yards in his first season with the Saints and six times after that as well. He had a record five 5,000-yard seasons. Brees is also second all-time with 571 touchdown passes.
The stats were wonderful, but Saints fans will remember him best for the rebirth of the city after a devastating hurricane, and making the franchise a champion.
Brees and the Saints make history
When Brees arrived in New Orleans, the Saints might have been the NFL's saddest franchise. They didn't have a winning season in their first 20 years of existence. A team that was born in 1967 didn't win its first playoff game until the end of the 2000 season. Imagining the Saints as a Super Bowl champion was laughable.
Brees helped change that. In 2009, three seasons after Brees led the Saints to an NFC championship game that they lost, the Saints went 13-3, the most wins in a season in franchise history. They won a dramatic NFC championship game against Brett Favre and the Vikings, then beat Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Brees was named Super Bowl MVP.
Brees would never make it back to a Super Bowl, coming painfully close with some agonizing playoff losses, but he was already in franchise and city lore. He played a huge role in making the Saints champions for the first time.
It ended up being a perfect match.
"I can tell you this: I know New Orleans was looking for a quarterback, but I promise you I needed New Orleans more than New Orleans needed me," Brees said, via the team's site.
"I had the chance to be a part of something so special that most guys don't get a chance to be a part of. Most people don't get a chance to be a part of something that's just so much bigger than them. We're all so much better for it."
Brees will enter the Hall of Fame, which is usually called football immortality. Brees was already immortal in New Orleans long before he got the call from the Hall.
