Thanksgiving is going to be an extremely special day for Drew Brees this year.
Brees, who has been a studio analyst for Football Night In America this season, will get to call his first NFL game as an NBC commentator, as he joins Mike Tirico in the booth for their broadcast of the Buffalo Bills vs. New Orleans Saints in the Caesars Superdome.
He’ll have to step out of the booth at halftime, however, because the Saints will also be honoring him with a celebration of his 15 years with the franchise, which includes a Super Bowl victory, 12 Pro Bowls, as 142-86 (.623) regular-season record, and just about every team passing record there is. This is the first time Brees will be back at the Superdome since retiring in 2020.
“My family and I are forever grateful for all the incredible moments we shared together with the city of New Orleans and Who Dat Nation,” Brees said in a press release of the event. “What an incredible moment it will be, back in the Dome with the greatest fans in the world.”
Brees has spent the season working as a color commentator for Notre Dame football games. Some see this as a nod to Brees eventually ascending into an NFL role and possibly even replacing Cris Collinsworth when the longtime commenter’s contract is up (in two years) or he leaves for another job (say, joining Al Michaels at Amazon?).
NBC has announced that Mike Tirico and Drew Brees will call the @Bills–@Saints Thanksgiving night game at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. No doubt that Brees was hired with a long-term eye of him sitting next Tirico in the post Michaels-Collinsworth era.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) November 18, 2021
As for Tirico, he’ll be calling his fifth Thanksgiving NFL game for NBC. Whether or not this is the start of a long-term booth pairing for NBC remains to be seen.
