Drew Brees: Signing Superstar QB Will Not Save Saints' Season

The New Orleans Saints finally got something positive done this offseason and inked Drew Brees to a new contract.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the deal is worth $100 million over the next five years with $60 million of that guaranteed in the first three seasons.

This is the richest deal in NFL history, and the elite quarterback certainly deserves the money; but it won’t make the Saints a true contender for the 2013 Super Bowl.

Unfortunately for NOLA, the team was ripped apart in the offseason with suspensions, fines and an overwhelming turmoil that came about from the infamous bounty scandal.

Head coach Sean Peyton was suspended for the entire season, GM Mickey Loomis received an eight-game sentence and assistant/interim head coach Joe Vitt will miss the first six games.

Star linebacker Jonathan Vilma will miss the entire 2012-13 campaign, and defensive end Will Smith will be forced to sit four games for their alleged roles in the bounty program as well.

Those sanctions are just too much for even a resilient group like New Orleans to overcome.

While it was important for the organization to lock Brees—the star QB that led the team to their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history—up for the prime of his career, the first season is going to be a waste of money.

The fact that Aaron Kromer will coach six games, then Vitt will take the reins for the remaining ten, coupled with the other suspensions and missing personnel, is just going to cause too much discord and will not allow the franchise to truly contend.

New Orleans shouldn’t have a horrific season in 2012-13, but it projects to be subpar by the standards they have set in previous years.

The organization will have to wait a year for things to return to normalcy and once again become a top team in the NFC. That is when Drew Brees' new contract and subsequent presence under center will pay dividends.