Cardinals Reportedly Offered Drew Brees Massive Fully Guaranteed Contract in 2018 But He Turned it Down
By Jerry Trotta
It's always fun to visit some of the bigger "what if's" in sports, and after a recent rumor emerged, Cardinals fans will be asking themselves that very question.
Drew Brees, who is expected to sign a fresh contract extension with the New Orleans Saints this offseason, reportedly received an upscale guaranteed contract offer from the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2018 season.
According to ESPN insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, that deal was worth $60 million over two years and was fully guaranteed.
The Cardinals reportedly made an offer to Drew Brees before the 2018 season:https://t.co/MHmDmZJSyx
— 98.7 Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 2, 2020
Brees reportedly never even considered Arizona's offers, citing his motivation to win another Super Bowl over banking $30 million annually while playing for a team poised for anything but success.
The report claims that Brees, 41, still feels that way, and won't test the open market unless he endures an unprecedented falling out with Sean Payton and New Orleans' front office.
The 'What We Heard' Combine notebook with @DanGrazianoESPN and me is loaded -- Tom Brady's next stop (and what AB might have to do with that), QB draft dominoes, latest on Dak, league-wide trade options, more https://t.co/bJRtYWiMyu
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 2, 2020
Prior to drafting Kyler Murray in 2019, the Cardinals struggled mightily to find a competent gunslinger. After Brees rejected their offer, Arizona infamously went on to sign brittle veteran Sam Bradford to a one-year, $20 million (!) contract only to waive him a few months later in November.
By no means should fans in the desert feel provoked by this news. No matter how much money the Cards were prepared to offer Brees, he was never abandoning the Big Easy.