Drew Brees’ Next Contract

The New Orleans Saints 2011 season came to disappointing last weekend which has turned the attention for a second Super Bowl title in three years to what’s to come for a number of key free agents.

At the top of their list, as well as ours (Top 50 Free Agents), sits QB Drew Brees who will be an unrestricted free agent in matter of weeks.

ESPN’s Pat Yasinskas takes a look at the amount of money Brees should be able to haul in.

“Brees should get more than Michael Vick and something similar to what Tom Brady and Peyton Manning got,” writes Yasinskas. “The structure is open to creativity. But I think it’s safe to say Brees can expect to average somewhere around $18 million per season and the Saints can count on his yearly cap figure starting off somewhere around $15 million.”

Brees just turned 33 so that should be factor into the deal either by the length of the contract or the amount guaranteed included in the contract. Despite his age, Brees is playing better than ever and certainly deserving of being paid one of the highest salaries in the NFL.

The real holdup here is the fact that the Saints have so many key free agents to address this year.  Carl Nicks, Marques Colston, Aubrayo Franklin, Tracy Porter and Robert Meachem will all be unrestricted free agents so the amount of money that they can save in the interim would increase their chances of retaining some of these players.