A weekend celebrating football and the greats who’ve played it was capped by the enshrinement ceremony into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for five more legends of the game on Saturday in Canton, Ohio, the birthplace of today’s NFL.
The 2026 class included wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, kicker Adam Vinatieri, linebacker Luke Kuechly and running back Roger Craig. Perhaps the headliner of the class, however, was quarterback Drew Brees.
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Amid a chorus of “Who Dat” chants from the many New Orleans Saints’ faithful in attendance, Brees delivered the final speech of the celebratory afternoon. And in the middle of his gracious yet inspiring speech, Brees made time to point to Jesus, as he so often did during his incredible 20-year career.
“One of the most life-changing events occurred my junior year of high school (in Austin, Texas) after suffering a major knee injury, which put my athletic career in jeopardy. My identity was challenged,” he said. “Up until that point, sports had defined me, and I wasn’t sure who I was without it.
“Sitting in church, on my 17th birthday, Christ came into my heart and changed me forever.”
“Christ came into my heart and changed me forever.”
This is GREAT from @drewbrees at his @ProFootballHOF induction.
🎥 ESPN/NFL pic.twitter.com/64WN8UrNm2
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) August 8, 2026
“I felt protected, connected and directed towards the path that God had for me,” he continued. “He would equip me for the journey, which led me to places I never could have expected.”
Brees also thanked those who mentored him toward greater spiritual maturity, and he later mentioned how much he benefited from the Bible studies he participated in with his Saints teammates.
One of the most poignant moments of Brees’ speech was when he discussed his arrival in New Orleans.
“Sometimes, it takes losing what can be replaced to truly appreciate the things that can’t,” he said, alluding the devastation New Orleans experienced after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “New Orleans, you accepted me. You embraced me. You believed in me. But more importantly, you entrusted me with the soul of the city.
“And I would’ve died to protect that calling.”
"You trusted me with the soul of the city. And I would have died to protect that calling."
Drew Brees' message to New Orleans during his Hall of Fame speech ❤️ pic.twitter.com/n35Xp582gw
— ESPN (@espn) August 8, 2026
Brees was drafted in the second round by the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers in 2001 after a successful four-year career at Purdue in which he won the Big Ten Conference championship and conference MVP in 2000. He initially struggled with the Chargers, however, and was benched on three separate occasions. Standing at only 6 feet tall and weighing just more than 200 pounds, many considered him too small to succeed.
His unique bond with the city of New Orleans, however, began in March 2006, when he signed with the team in free agency. The Saints were coming off of a 3-13 season in 2005, in which they relocated to San Antonio due to Katrina’s effects. Under the leadership of Brees and first-year head coach Sean Payton, New Orleans rebounded to finish 10-6 and win the NFC South. A few years later, in February 2010, Brees led the Saints to the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl victory, a 31-17 decision over the Indianapolis Colts. Brees was named Super Bowl MVP.
During his 15 seasons in New Orleans, Brees reached 12 of his 13 Pro Bowls, twice won NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2008, 2011), was named Walter Payton Man of the Year (2006), rewrote the NFL record books and endeared himself to the city for life.
Known for his leadership, preparation and pinpoint accuracy, Brees set new records for career passing yards, career passing touchdowns and total completions. He’s now second to Tom Brady in each of those categories. On March 14, 2021, exactly 15 years after signing with the Saints, Brees retired.
In 2018, as he was nearing many of those passing milestones, Brees revealed in a video with Sports Spectrum more details about becoming a follower of Christ as a high schooler so many years ago. Although he went to church growing up, he admitted that he often found church boring. That is, until his torn ACL as a junior in high school.
“What I thought was just gonna be my life — sports — I felt like was being stripped away from me,” he said in the video. “I remember sitting in church on my 17th birthday, sitting in that same pew where my brother and I used to just goof around and never pay attention. For some reason, that day it was different.
“I was locked in on the pastor as he was sitting there talking about how the Lord was looking for a few good men to carry on His Kingdom and to spread His Word and to live that life that He had planned for them. That spoke to me.
“It was at that moment that I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart and knew that there was something that was bigger planned for me than just sports.”
Later in the video he spoke about his 2006 free agency: “My wife and I were taking a visit to New Orleans, who was six months post-Katrina. We’re just looking at the sheer devastation and just saying, ‘I’m not gonna trust what I see with my eyes, because my eyes are telling me not to come here.’ And yet, my heart, my soul, the Lord is telling me that this is our calling. It’s not about just coming to play football and be a part of the resurgence of a football team or an organization; it’s about the resurrection and rebirth of a city, and we can be a part of that.
“… Second Corinthians 5:7 will tell you we’re led by faith and not by sight. So much of life is that. It’s faith in God, knowing that He’s got a plan. At times you don’t understand it, and you’re not gonna see it, and yet you just have to trust Him. You have to have faith.”
Including Brees and his four other Class of 2026 enshrinees, there are now just 387 bronze busts on display in Canton, out of the more than 26,000 players who have ever played in the NFL.
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