Pro-bowl quarterback and Super Bowl XLIV MVP, Drew Brees, gets the franchise tag from the New Orleans Saints which would give the Saints exclusive negotiating rights to their QB in the upcoming season according to sources at ESPN.
Presently the franchise tag will cost the team’s salary cap $14.4 million and will further increase this spring. Brees has been deliberating on a future contract with the Saints but both sides are said to be millions of dollars apart in contract talks.
Brees is said to be aiming for contract that averages $23 million per season for the first three seasons which would be on par with the contract for Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning. On the other side of the spectrum, the Saints are offering $18 millions per season instead which matches Tom Brady’s initial three season contract with the New England Patriots.
Brees who recently turned 33 years of age shows no signs of slowing down. Since joining the Saints in 2006, Brees has passed for more yards than any other quarterback in the league with 28,394 yards. Last season Brees tallied 5,476 passing yards and a touchdown/interception ratio of 46 to 14 in the 2011 season and also led the Saints to a 13-3 record en route to capturing the NFC South title. The Saints went on to defeat the Detroit Lions in the first round of playoffs before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs.
