Despite the fact that quarterback Drew Brees led them to a Super Bowl win in 2009 and set the single-season passing yardage record this past year, the New Orleans Saints are unwilling to give him a long-term deal. They had better change their stance soon, however, or else things could get ugly.
According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Brees may simply choose not to sign the one-year franchise tender that is being offered by the Saints currently. He could conceivably sit out the entire season if he wanted to, although this threat seems like a means of pressuring the Saints into offering a term more to Brees' liking.
Some may consider Brees possibly holding out to be a childish move since the franchise tender would pay him a pretty penny for one season, but he has certainly earned a major commitment from the organization. Brees is one of the few elite signal-callers in the league and if the Saints aren't willing to lock him up, at least 20 other teams in the league would be.
Brees' biggest concern regarding the franchise is what happened to him in 2005 as a member of the San Diego Chargers. Brees injured his shoulder that season and didn't have a long-term deal to fall back on, and he doesn't want something similar to happen (via Pro Football Talk):
I've played under the franchise tag before, back in 2005, and that ended with 13 anchors in my right shoulder and a 25 percent chance of playing football again.
That didn't work out too well for me. I've talked to the Saints about this many times. They definitely know my desire to have a long-term deal, and hopefully they want me to have that as well. We will continue discussions and hopefully get a long-term deal done.
While Brees is getting up there in age a bit at 33, he obviously represents the Saints' best chance to win and ultimately take home another Lombardi Trophy for the foreseeable future. Even if Brees isn't the same quarterback by the end of the deal, it isn't going to cripple the franchise to give him a five-year deal or something of that nature.
Brees has always shown loyalty to the organization and it's time for the front office to reciprocate that loyalty. When Brees signed with the team in 2006, the city of New Orleans was fresh off the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Although many were looking for a way out of New Orleans at that point, Brees embraced the city, became very visible in the community and essentially resurrected the Saints franchise. Refusing to work on a long-term deal isn't the way to repay a person as integral as Brees, and it certainly won't endear the Saints to the fans.
Prior to the Saints' run of success since the signing of Brees, the organization and owner Tom Benson were considered to be on the cheap side. That hasn't really been the case since, but that old mentality is beginning to rear its ugly head once again.
It didn't take long for the Saints to go from one of the laughingstocks of the league to one of its model franchises. That transformation could be reversed just as quickly if the organization stands firm and allows Brees to hold out. Not only would it make them look bad, but it would rob fans of getting to see one of the best quarterbacks in a very long time.
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