New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees Could Well Be on Brink of Disastrous Divorce

According to Larry Holder of CBS Sports, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had a chance to become the NFL's richest man:

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The Saints offered Drew Brees a long-term contract before the 2011 season that would have made him the highest-paid player in the NFL—and Brees and his agent, Tom Condon, turned down the offer, a league source told CBSSports.com.

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In addition, the Saints and Brees are still at odds ends on a new contract. According to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, the gap is quite significant:

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As of Thursday, the sides remain roughly $5 million a year apart on a new contract.

If a deal with Brees isn’t done by Monday, the team will have to use the franchise tag on him. The ripple effect of that is significant because the Saints also have wide receiver Marques Colston and guard Carl Nicks coming up as free agents. If the Saints are forced to franchise Brees, there is a strong chance they will lose both Colston and Nicks, each of whom are looking for about $9 million per year.

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As we see here, the business side of pro football once again proves to be the core of the game.

And, if the New Orleans Saints want any shot at remaining the cream of the NFC South, coughing up the dough appears to be the only solution. The question, though, is whether the Saints believe that Brees can remain consistent without Carl Nicks and Marques Colston.

As Cole mentions, both would likely be gone if Brees gets the franchise tag. Well, that happening would only put more pressure on Brees to dice 'em up again in 2012. However, after tossing for an NFL-record 5,476 yards in 2011, Brees has proven to be capable of virtually anything.

Also, the man has thrown for no less than 4,388 yards the past six seasons and never under three grand when playing in 12 or more games. Now he can be interception prone at times, but that's the most minuscule of risks when dropping back so much because of his great efficiency level.

Worst-case scenario is a change of field position which basically is like a punt in the first place.

Right now New Orleans isn't projected to be in a horrendous salary cap situation, but its not in the best either.

That said, it appears to only be getting worse as we speak and the franchise tag deadline is coming quick. Shortly thereafter is free agency and before we know it, the draft will have come and gone.

Can you imagine if Brees ends up leaving The Big Easy?

Insert any superlative or generalization you want here as to how ugly this situation could get. To some extent it would seem like something out of the pro football movie, The Replacements, but more so geared toward one player than a strike.

As for the future, the Saints would fall back behind Carolina and Atlanta in the division and definitely far back of the Giants, Eagles, 49ers, Packers and Lions.

If anything, though, the Saints need to retain Brees long-term.

Just look at other guys like Tom Brady in New England, Peyton Manning (before his injury) in Indianapolis, Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh and Eli Manning in New York.

Having that franchise quarterback is the primary reason for consistent success.

The San Diego Chargers were fortunate that Philip Rivers turned out after Brees was gone, but Rivers' accomplishments are tough to compare with Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.

Still, in regards to the long run, it's going to be more damaging to New Orleans if Brees is gone and other to-be free agents are retained.

And the longer it takes Brees and the Saints to find mutual ground, the odds continue to increase in terms of him going elsewhere.

John Rozum on Twitter.