ICYMI: Drew Brees - Endorsements after Saints, Most Trolled Player, Flag Football League, & Walk-ons at Purdue

Drew Brees may have recently retired, but he is still making headlines outside of the National Football League with his endorsements and partnerships.

BREES BANKING THE ENDORSEMENTS

Without a doubt, Drew Brees sits on the Mt. Rushmore of "Best Saints Players of All Time" with most likely Archie Manning, Rickey Jackson, and a fourth and highly debatable former Saints player.

Don't feel sorry for Brees and his retirement and the $247M earned his NFL career. According to Front Office Sports, Brees will continue his lucrative business model by earning approximately $15M per year in endorsements after his days on the gridiron.

BREES GROWS FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Brees' flag football league, FOOTBALL 'N' AMERICA is doubling in size from 24 league sites to 48 in 2021. FNA has partnered with LIGHT Helmets to safeguard the league's youth from head impacts on the field. LIGHT Helmets CEO Nicholas Esayian told me in our interview this week that the partnership began after Brees had an opportunity to look at the helmet via a mutual friend.

BREES 4th MOST TROLLED NFL PLAYER

The Action Network analyzed NFL stars on social media and discovered Drew Brees was the fourth most trolled player in the league. Brees received negative posts on social media. The other players ranking higher than Brees were Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), and Aaron Donald (Rams).

Brees, Brady, Mahomes, and Donald had one thing in common: elite NFL players. I guess to be trolled not bad, especially when you're that good.

The Top Five Players on Instagram (# of posts, negative responses):

Tom Brady - 4,870,126 posts, 15.2% were negative
Patrick Mahomes - 1,360,728 posts, 10.4% were negative
Aaron Donald - 141,412 posts, 21.6% were negative
Drew Brees - 766,454 posts, 13.9 % were negative
Josh Norman - 57,506 posts, 22.1% were negative

Other notable NFL players on the list were Jalen Hurts, Derek Carr, Deshaun Watson, Deandre Hopkins, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Tyrann Mathieu, Carson Wentz, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Derrick Henry, Odell Beckham, Jr., Russell Wilson, Tyreek Hill, and Jalen Ramsey.

BREES TO HAVE WALK-ONS AT ALMA MATER

Baton Rouge architecture firm Tipton Associates has been contracted to design a Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux at Purdue University. The Boilermakers version will have a Gen Z sports bar flare and differ from the standard Walk-Ons. The renovation of the Purdue Memorial Union will house the new Walk-Ons for the university.

Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux – Scratch-made, Louisiana-inspired cuisine with a game-day flair: Burgers, wraps, salads, seafood specialties.

Drew Brees is projected to land a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a few years. He led the New Orleans Saints to a 31-17 Super Bowl 44 championship over native New Orleanian Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

At the time of his retirement in March, Brees passed for 80,358 yards and was the NFL's all-time leading passer.

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