When it was reported last month that future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees won’t return to NBC for the 2022 season, Brees pushed back with a tweet that among other things opened the door to playing again. While he could still, in theory, play again, Brees definitely won’t be back at NBC.
NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua told Joe Reedy of the Associated Press that Brees will not contribute to NBC’s NFL or Notre Dame coverage in 2022.
Bevacqua said that Brees expressed an interest to spend more time with his family.
“The unbelievable busyness of an NFL career and then really not taking a break at all and launching right in with us with both Notre Dame football and the NFL, it was certainly an around-the-clock assignment,” Bevacqua told Reedy. “This was definitely a lifestyle choice for him, which is totally understandable.”
The article points out that Brees remains under contract to NBC, and that NBC wouldn’t prevent him another opportunity. Reedy writes that it is “likely” Brees will spend the 2022 season at home. Some had speculated that Brees could end up in the No. 2 booth at Fox.