Drew Brees is an American football player playing for New Orleans Saints and is one of the most decorated players in the game. He is also a known philantropist.

Early life:

He was born as Drew Christopher Brees on January 15, 1978 in Austin in Texas in USA. His father Eugene Wilson, also known as “Chip”, was a very known lawyer, while his mother Mina Ruth was an attorney at law.

He has a younger brother Reid with whom he is very close. His parents divorced when he was only seven years old and since they shared custody they split time going to their parent’s home, each week to a different parent.

The divorce resulted in brothers getting more closer to each other. They trusted each other enormously. Their father remarried after a while, to Amy Hightower, who was a daughter of Democratic U.S. Representative Jack Hightower. The had a daughter so the boys got a half-sister Audrey.

Although his parents both finished law school, they were very good athletes in highschool so it seems that sports run in the family. His father played basketball for a Texas high school team and his mother was an all-state in three sports while she was a highschool student.

His uncle (mother’s brother) was a quarterback and his grandad was a football coach. His younger brother Reid also got interested in sports and became an outfielder in baseball.

Drew was interested in baseball, football and even basketball in highschool and he almost decided to start serious baseball playing. In the 11th grade he hurt his knee and that was the end of his baseball career.

But afterwards he joined Westlake High School football team and showed great talent as a leader. Although he had great achievements in school football he wasn’t recruited in any of the Texas football teams.

Only two colleges offered him a scholarship and he chose Purdue  University because it was higher rated, especially in academics.

In 2001 he finished college with a degree in industrial managment. He was a very good student.

The Purdue Boilermakers football team gave him his first start and he became the offensive captain. It was a chance he couldn’t miss.

He could’ve joined the 2000 NFL Draft and become available for draft but he decided to finish his studies. His parents were very educated and he knew that if he won’t succeed in sports that he will have a backup plan.

He became the most outstanding player in 2000 and won the “Maxwell Award”. He earned Academic All-America honors which no Boilermaker player received since 1989.

The University gave him an Award for his dedication and his philantropic work.

In 2009 the University inducted him into Purdue’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Career development:

In 2001 he was drafted by San Diego Chargers as their first pick. His career had ups and downs until 2004 when he broke a few records and was named as 2004 Comeback Player of The Year.

In 2005 he became a free agent and during that season he went through arthroscopis surgery of his torn shoulder.

New Orleans Saints offered him bigger earnings so he signed a deal with them. In the next few years he had great scores and performance and became a valuable player of their team.

He relocated to New Orleans with his family in order to join the team.

He won the 2010 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award and Sportsman of The Year.

In 2013 he signed a new contract with the Saints which was the largest in NFL history: $60 million.

In 2014 his performance became even better and he became the most valuable player for the New Orleans Saints.

In 2017 he was named to Pro Bowl, his 11th.

Personal life:

Drew got married in 2013 to his college girlfriend Brittany Dudchenko. They have four children: three daughters and one son. After he signed the contract with New Orleans Saints he moved there, and although New Orleans was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina he fell in love with the city, and he still lives there.

The family has the “four F’s” rule which stands for Faith, Family, Football and Philanthropy. They have nurtured this rule in their family for a long time now and it seems like it has made a great impact on their children who continue to grow in health and happiness.

He is a very devoted Christian and always trying to help people in need. Although he may seem like every other celebrity, he spends a lot of time trying to be a better person and a better human.

He published a book in 2010, called “Coming Back Stronger” which became “The New York Times” bestseller.

His mother died in 2009, after comitting suicide. He wasn’t on good terms with his mother for a while because he refused her offer to be his agent. However, this made a big impact on his life and he had to take some time off to reconsider his life choices.

His nickname is “Cool Brees” because he handles great under pressure and always calms the team and the game. Other teammates never had anything bad to say about him.

He turned to business and opened many restaurants and has eight Jimmy John’s restaurants. He sees this as an opportunity for growing a business which will be something for him to do after he retires from football.

In 2003 he and his wife founded “Brees Dream Foundation” which helps cancer patients and their extra needs. They also helped rebuilt New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2008 he started promoting “Chili’s Grill & Bar” for helping raise money for a lot of charity organizations, especially “Operation Kids”. He is very sensitive to kids. One of his first projects was biuilding a playgtound for them.

In 2010 he was appointed in the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition by president Barack Obama. This was something that he was very proud about.

Quick summary

Full name:  Drew Christopher Brees

Date of birth: January 15, 1978

Birthplace: Austin in Texas in USA

Age: 39

Profession: football player

Height: 1,83 m

Weight: 95 kgs

Net Worth: $120 million