Drew Brees turns 40: Untold stories of an ultracompetitive QB
 

Talk to anyone about Drew Brees, from family to longtime friends to past and present teammates -- and you'll get some awesome stories about his legendary competitiveness.

Before the New Orleans Saints quarterback became the NFL's all-time passing leader, he was a multisport star who once beat a younger Andy Roddick in youth tennis and once committed to play baseball at TCU. But there also are many classic tales of his exploits on a golf course, pingpong table, a pickleball court, a horseshoe pit or the seed-spitting and grasshopper-catching contests he had with his brother, Reid, on their grandfather's ranch. Apparently the only thing he can't do is stunt bartending.

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As Brees approaches his 40th birthday on Tuesday -- and the Saints' playoff opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET (Fox) -- we gathered some of the best behind-the-scenes stories on the future Hall of Famer.

Don't underestimate his jump-roping skills

Steve Gleason, former Saints teammate: "In 2006, when he was brand new to New Orleans, Drew was rehabbing his shoulder from the brutal injury he had sustained the previous season. At this point, just a week or two into the offseason training, we hadn't had any team meetings, and Drew hadn't addressed the team. We didn't know if he would even play football again. And having spent the previous six seasons with average leadership at the quarterback position, I was skeptical and waiting to see what type of player, and what type of leader, he would be for us.

"In the locker room, Drew was doing some jump-rope drills, and some guys were chirping about his skills. 'Nice work Drew. You should do double Dutch next! Ha!' 'I'll get some chalk. You can do some hopscotch for tomorrow's rehab!' Then someone said, 'How about some double unders? How many double jumps can you do? 10? 20? 25?' Drew replied, 'How many do you want me to do? Let's bet on it.' I spoke up. 'Fifty. Do 50 and I'll be impressed.' Drew calmly asked, 'What's the bet Gleas?' We decided on a sushi dinner, and at this point a decent crowd had formed in the training room. I figured he had no chance at this, and I'd be enjoying a sushi dinner on Drew. He got to 20 and guys started getting excited. Twenty-five and things got more intense. At 40, it got loud enough that guys started coming in from the locker room to see what was going on. Drew hit 50 and kept rolling. He got to 75 without missing a beat and just decided that was enough. He came over to my training table, shook my hand while looking me in the eye with that confident yet semi-humble half smile that this city has come to know so well. That was my first experience in learning not to doubt Drew's physical abilities."

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