TheOak

I am choosing to look at it from a different perspective. I know this will not alleviate anyone's heartburn, but it is really not as bad as some are portraying.

1. Even if he does not get a contract, he is Franchise tagged and that means he is not going anywhere but N.O...
2. Could he sit out a season? Theoretically yes he could, but that is not his personality, and i think at this point in his career sitting out a season would hurt him more than it would help him. If he sat out a season it could possibly damage his HoF chances. It will definitely damage his value next season, as not being on the field for a season puts him in the backs of peoples minds and not in the front. It would also put him as 3rd best QB in the league behind Rogers, and Brady... Remember who was considered the best QB in the league two years ago... P. Manning, and where is he now in that discussion? An after thought.
3. Who is the last future HoFer that sat out for a season because of a lack of contract? Exactly... they don't. They may hold out longer than we would like but eventually they are playing that season.
4. There is also a lot of talk about him needing to sign and get in gear because we are with out Sean Payton this year... Yes we are, but that is not a Drew Brees problem, that is a Saints front office problem so I would caution holding that against him.

Something to note, and it helps understand Brees position. The players are not "full time" employees of the New Orleans Saints (E.G. front office people, dome employees, etc...) In reality they are contract employees, consultants if you will, that live from contract to contract that can be terminated at any time. There is no long term disability, easy job while he recovers, etc... if he has a career ending injury the second game of the year. He is done. So it only makes sense to push as hard as he can for front end loaded, guaranteed money. While the CBA may actually give some relief it is not going to be any where near his salary and it will only cover medical costs, it will not serve as income.

Fans tend to look at the dollar amount of a contract and feel like pushing for more is greedy. Drew Brees is a business and he is in the business of Drew brees... Not the New Orleans Saints...and businesses will get every dollar they can for a product...

Drew was not born a Saint. At one point in his life he was a Charger... and when he got hurt, they let him go.