Drew Brees' Retirement Opens Door For Tom Brady To Capture All NFL Passing Records

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees is retiring from football. The decision, which was formally announced on Sunday, closes the book on one of the most prolific careers in NFL history.

It also opens the door for Tom Brady to finish his career as the all-time leader in every important passing category in the NFL record books.

With Brady now signed in Tampa through his age 45 season in 2022, the quarterback merely needs to stay healthy for part of the upcoming season in 2021 in order to lay claim to the record for most passing yards in NFL history.

Brees does retire as the all-time leader in that category, with 80,358 passing yards. Brady trails him by 1,154 yards. Considering Brady threw for 4,633 yards last year and has averaged over 4,400 yards per season over the past four years, he should be able to pass Brees in just four or five games of work next season.

Most Passing Yards, All Time
1. Drew Brees, 80,358
2. Tom Brady, 79,204
3. Peyton Manning, 71, 940
4. Brett Favre, 71,838
5. Philip Rivers, 63,440

The record for all-time touchdown passes already belongs to Brady, thanks to his 40-touchdown season in 2020. Brees, who missed four games due to injury in 2020 and missed five games in 2019, had previously set the record in 2019, and he and Brady spent time going back and forth as the record holder prior to Brees missing that chunk of time last season.

Most Touchdown Passes, All Time
1. Tom Brady, 581
2. Drew Brees, 571
3. Peyton Manning, 539
4. Brett Favre, 508
5. Philip Rivers, 421

Every single touchdown that Brady throws from now through the end of his career will simply be adding to his likely insurmountable lead over everybody. No active players are anywhere close to catching him, either.

Most Touchdown Passes, Active Players
1. Tom Brady, 581
2. Aaron Rodgers, 412
3. Ben Roethlisberger, 396
4. Matt Ryan, 347
5. Matthew Stafford, 282
6. Russell Wilson, 267

The 37-year-old Rodgers likely won't have enough time to make up that kind of round, and the 39-year-old Roethlisberger certainly will not. Perhaps 32-year-old Russell Wilson or 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes (114 TDs) makes a run at the crown, but that's a long, long way from becoming even a discussion worth having.

While the positive statistics are important, the story of these all-time statistical leaders cannot be told without also posting the all-time leaders for most interceptions. This is where Brady's separation from the pack stands out the most.

Most Interceptions, All Time
1. Brett Favre, 336
2. George Blanda, 277
3. John Hadl, 268
...
8. Dan Marino, 252
9. Peyton Manning, 251
...
T-13. Drew Brees, 243
...
T-23. Philip Rivers, 209
...
29. Ben Roethlisberger, 201
...
33. Tom Brady, 191

Playing conditions are important as well, so it must be noted that according to Pro Football Reference data, Brady has played just 27 games either in a dome or in a retractable roof stadium. Brees played in 155 such games.

And of course, these are all regular-season statistics. When combining regular season and postseason statistics, Brady's been the all-time leader for some time.

Most Passing Yards, Postseason, All Time
1. Tom Brady, 12,449
2. Peyton Manning, 7,339
3. Brett Favre, 5,855
4. Joe Montana, 5,772
5. Ben Roethlisberger, 5,757
6. Aaron Rodgers, 5,669
7. Drew Brees, 5,366

Most Passing TDs, Postseason, All Time
1. Tom Brady, 83
2. Joe Montana, 45
2. Aaron Rodgers, 45
4. Brett Favre, 44
5. Peyton Manning, 40
6. Drew Brees, 37
7. Ben Roethlisberger, 34
8. Dan Marino, 32

The postseason stats are bound to pile up when you win as much as Brady has; his 34 postseason wins are more than double that of Joe Montana, who ranks second with 16.

Brady made sure to congratulate Brees on Sunday, thanking him for the inspiration.

The history between Brees and Brady goes back a long away, back to the Big 10, when Brees was under center for Purdue and Brady was the almost-full-time starter at Michigan.

The two went head to head from the very beginning until the very end, when they faced off three times in Brees' final season. Brees and the Saints won the first two, with Brady having one of the worst games of his career in the second regular-season matchup. But in the playoffs, when it mattered most, Brady earned the all-important victory in New Orleans.

Their careers were so intertwined that one recent report noted that if Brees had retired last year, the Saints may have been Brady's landing spot in free agency. Instead, Brees stuck around for one more year, and he and Brady finished their careers as they began -- going head to head as conference/divisional rivals.

Brady, the undisputed greatest quarterback of all time, did not and does not need the statistical records to retain that title. But Brady's career long ago stopped being about what was needed and very quickly became about removing any and all doubt about the the greatest of all time "debates." He passed Montana and Bradshaw by winning his fifth Super Bowl five years ago, but he just kept plowing through, winning No. 6 in 2018 and then winning his seventh in his first season after leaving the Patriots. Doing that was never really believed to be a possibility to anyone, and yet, Brady made it look a little easy, even at age 43.

And at age 44, provided he stays healthy, he'll be at the top of the list of every important passing list in NFL history.

In:
• NFL
• Tom Brady
• New England Patriots
• New Orleans Saints
• Drew Brees