Drew Brees Officially Announcesbr Retirement From NFL .br In a highly anticipatedbr move, New Orleans Saintsbr quarterback Drew Breesbr has retired from the NFLbr after 20 seasons. .br In a video post to Instagram, Brees’br children said he was “finally” retiring so hebr could “spend more time with [them].”.br In the caption of the post, Brees said it wasbr “time” for him to retire from football. .br He then directly addressedbr his Saints’ fans, saying hebr poured his “heart & soul”br into the team. .br Each day, I poured my heart & soul intobr being your Quarterback. Til the very end,br I exhausted myself to give everything Ibr had to the Saints organization, my team,br and the great city of New Orleans, Drew Brees, via Instagram.br He went on to credit New Orleansbr for shaping who he is and givingbr him “a lifetime of memories.”.br You have molded me, strengthened me,br inspired me, and given me a lifetime ofbr memories. My goal for the last 15 yearsbr was striving to give to you everythingbr you had given to me and more, Drew Brees, via Instagram.br Brees was undoubtedly one of thebr best quarterbacks to play in the NFL.br With 80,358 yards, he currently sits abovebr Tom Brady at the top spot in career passing yards.br Brees is also first all-time inbr completions, completion percentagebr and second in touchdown passes. .br He made the Pro-Bowlbr 13 times, set the recordbr for most seasons withbr more than 5,000 passingbr yards and led the NFL inbr passing yards seven times.