Drew Brees: Saints Quarterback Deserves Nothing Less Than Top Dollar

Given all he's accomplished since signing with the team in 2006, it's hard to imagine Drew Brees not being a member of the New Orleans Saints.

But at the very least, that is a possibility. The six-year, $60 million contract Brees signed in 2006 is up this year and hammering out an extension is proving to be difficult.

On Wednesday, though, Brees himself said that he is not about to let his contract status become a distraction.

"I'm trying to compartmentalize it the best that I can," Brees said, per ESPN. "That's why I hired my agent. They all have a job to do. I'm hoping it will be done sooner rather than later, but for me really it's about focusing on winning games and trying for it to not be a distraction."

They call this "saying all the right things." And as you can tell, Brees is quite good at it.

He better hope his agent is too. The word is that Tom Condon, Brees's esteemed agent, was in New Orleans this week to discuss his contract with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. Per the same ESPN article, Condon said the two had "a substantial talk."

Presumably, Brees is looking for a significant increase on the $10 million he made on average per year in his first contract with the team. Surely an elite quarterback like him—and Brees is elite—deserves as much as twice what he's been making.

In other words, he deserves to be paid like an elite NFL quarterback. And there are a number of contracts that he can cite to make his case.

For example, New England's Tom Brady signed a four-year extension last season that is paying him an average salary of $18 million per year. Before his season was derailed by a second neck surgery, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning signed a deal that will also pay him an average of $18 million per year. And very recently, Philadelphia's Michael Vick signed a six-year contract worth $100 million (though Pro Football Talk eventually noted that it's actually for five years and $80 million, but who's counting?).

Make no mistake, this is an upper echelon in which Brees belongs. He's been one of the most productive passers in the league ever since he first set foot in New Orleans. At this juncture, Brees is pretty much a lock for 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Few quarterbacks in the league are.

Oh, by the way, he also has a Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors under his belt.

Clearly, we're talking about a guy who is worth as much as Sirs Brady, Manning and Vick. Perhaps even more so, which you have to assume is what Brees' camp is trying to get.

Will Brees get a new deal like that, something that would likely pay him upwards of $20 million per year? My first impulse is to say no, as surely the Saints would prefer not to go over the Brady/Manning threshold.

But if they do end up caving in, it will be money well spent. They'll be getting one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL for a few more years. And at the age of just 32, they'll be getting a quarterback in Brees who still has plenty of good years left in him.

It'll get done, New Orleans. It's just a matter of time.

But keep your fingers crossed.