SmashMouth

Drew Brees didn't tip his hand on his plans beyond this year with the New Orleans Saints -- but others in attendance at The Advocate's Star of Stars high school sports awards event had no interest in playing coy.

When Brees was asked about his eventual retirement in a question-and-answer session on stage at L'Auberge Casino and Hotel on Monday night, the crowd answered before the quarterback could.

"Four more years! Four more years," they chanted.

Brees smiled and recalled the time he said he could play until he was 45. The 40-year-old didn't rule that out. His answer was a bit more wait-and-see.



"I realized [before the 2017 season] that I'm closer to the end than I am at the beginning ... it's gone by so fast. And I don't want to let a second pass me by. I don't want to take it for granted for one moment. So I'm just going to enjoy the moment, just going to stay in the moment and play the season like it's my last. I'm going to play it with the mentality like it's my last," Brees said.

And what happened? Brees said he had more fun that season than he'd ever had before, even with a heartbreaking playoff loss in Minnesota.

So he changed nothing, playing the next year with the same mindset. The 2018 season saw even better results up until yet another heartbreaking playoff loss, this time to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship.

After that heartburn-inducing finish, it didn't take Brees long to declare his return, saying in his post-game interview that he was "pretty positive" he'd be back for a 19th NFL season.