Drew Brees is going to be paid. That much is clear. But his big payday must wait at least one more month, as the New Orleans Saints quarterback said Thursday that he has ended all contract talk until the offseason.
"You know, I didn't want it to become a distraction," Brees told The Times-Picayune. "And from the discussions we had, going back and forth, there was no progress really being made. I really wanted to just focus on football.
"It's been tabled for now ... and just hopefully will resume when the time is right."
Brees' approach to his prospective deal is markedly different than some of the other high-profile free-agents-to-be. While Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson have been at odds with their respective teams for much of the season, there hasn't been any controversy in New Orleans, not when the Saints could possibly win their second Super Bowl in a three-year span.
According to The Times-Picayune, Brees' camp and the Saints remained far apart in negotiations up through the end of October -- one of the reasons the quarterback decided to end the in-season talks. But the newspaper also reported it's highly unlikely that Brees, 32, would fail to sign a long-term extension with the franchise that he led to a Super Bowl title in 2009.
It's expected that Brees will want to be paid a similar figure to what Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Michael Vick earn in their most recent contracts, which range from $72 million to $100 million in total value, according to The Times-Picayune.
