Episode 19: From Gridiron to the Kitchen Line: The Drew Brees Pickleball Story

He won a Super Bowl. 

He threw for more yards than anyone in NFL history at the time of his retirement. He's a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. And now Drew Brees is all-in on pickleball, owning a Major League Pickleball team, developing 30 Picklr franchise locations, hosting his own annual pickleball festival, and even creating an entirely new sport. In Episode 19 we tell the full story, from his near career-ending shoulder injury in 2005, to his legendary NFL comeback, to what the Drew Brees pickleball story means for every player in this community.

Topics: Drew Brees pickleball, NFL players pickleball, Drew Brees The Picklr, celebrity pickleball, Major League Pickleball, LA Mad Drops, NFL shoulder injury recovery, pickleball recovery, athlete recovery lessons, pickleball performance, pickleball growing sport, Drew Brees Super Bowl, pickleball franchise, Paddle Pro Balm.

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Paddle Pro Balm is a pickleball-focused recovery and performance brand designed to help players reduce soreness, recover faster, and stay on the court longer. Built specifically for pickleball athletes of all levels.

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Disclaimer
This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any recovery or treatment program.

pickleball recovery, pickleball injuries, tennis elbow pickleball, pickleball performance, pickleball pain relief, pickleball tips, pickleball training, paddle pro balm

Transcript

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Yes, what's up, everybody? Welcome back, everybody, and welcome to another episode. Episode 19 of the Pickleball Recovery and Performance Podcast brought to you by Paddle Pro Recovery or PPR, home of the famous organic plant-based relief topical bomb that is a tube two punch, takes your pain away rapidly within minutes in most cases, and transdermally attacks that inflammation, causing the root of that pain, so that you can what, what, get back on the court fast. That's what it's all about. Because we love the sport of pickleball. Yes, guys, today is exciting. And I'm sorry that I missed you on Monday, got a little tied up there, but we are gonna get two out this week, today and Friday. Today's episode is exciting. It's gonna be a little bit of a story about Drew Brees. Anybody know that guy? The NFL legend? Well, today's episode 19 is the NFL Legend to Pickleball Powerhouse. Yes, guys, let's dive in a bit here. So I'm sure you guys all know Drew B's, but first, welcome back to the Pickleball Recovery and Performance Podcast. You know who it's by, PPR, episode 19. We're gonna have a lot of fun today. Today we're telling a story. Yes, a story. The story of a man who threw a football, right? A pig skin, for 20 years at the highest level on earth. He walked away from the game as one of the greatest ever to do it. And then guess what he did? He discovered pickleball. So welcome, I'm calling from Gridiron to the Kitchen Line, the Drew Breeze story. So buckle up! This one is going to be good, guys. Alright, check it out. Picture this. Ready? Visionaries? Ready? Listeners? It's December 31st, 2005. While ago. NFL Week 17, San Diego Chargers versus the Denver Broncos. My team. I'm native there, by the way. Drew Brees, one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the entire league, drops back to throw, fumbles the ball, dives on it, and takes a brutal, and I mean brutal hit from two different defenders. He tears his labrum. He shreds his rotator cuff. His throwing shoulder, the thing, you know, his entire career is built on, is essentially destroyed in one play, guys. And here's the brutal part. The Chargers, you know, the team he'd given everything to, looked at that shoulder and essentially said, We're good. Thanks. That had a young quarterback named Phillip Rivers waiting. They offered Breeze a contract that wasn't even close to what his talent warranted. Okay, he was good. So Drew Breeze, injured, uncertain, with even the doctors unsure if he'd ever throw an NFL pass again, hit the open market. The Miami Dolphins looked at that shoulder and passed. Almost every single team did. But one team didn't. A franchise that had just gone 3-13, a city still devastated from Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Saints looked at a broken, battered shouldered quarterback that the rest of the league did not want and said, We believe in you. That might be the most consequential bet in NFL history, right? So let me give you the quick Drew Breeze career brief. Because if you're a pickleball player who doesn't follow football, you need to understand exactly who this man is before we get to the pickleball part. Seriously. Drew Brees, NFL career at a basic glance. He was born in Austin, Texas, January 15th, 1979. Any birthdays out there? Happy birthday. College, he went to Purdue University. He set Big Ten records for completions, attempts, and yards. He had 20 seasons in the NFL. San Diego Chargers were from 2001 to 2005. The New Orleans Saints, you know, the ones that said we believe in you, was 2006 to 2020. He was a Super Bowl champion. Super Bowl 2009, named Super Bowl MVP, that most valuable player. He had 13 Pro Bowl selections, 80,358 career passing yards. Wow. All-time NFL leader at retirement. He had a 67.7% career completion percentage, second of all time. He had 571 touchdown passes, second of all time. He set an NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, 54 straight. Wow. Pro Football Hall of Famer inducted as a first ballot selection in 2026. That's this year, guys. To put some of that in perspective, 80,358 career passing yards. If you laid those yards end to end, you would cover nearly 46 miles. That is almost an hour drive at grandma speed. The man threw the football for 46 miles worth of completions over his career. Think of that. I want you to think about your shoulder this morning after three hours of pickleball. Now think about 20 years of that, right? But instead of pickleball, you're throwing a football for 46 miles while 300 pound men try to end you in your afternoon. And yet, Breeze was not known as a power arm or a big physical presence. At just six feet tall, undersized for an NFL quarterback, scouts questioned his height coming out of college. Teams doubted him. He got drafted in the second round despite his ridiculous college production. The guy who got underestimated his entire career, guys, became the most accurate passer in the history of professional football. Let that marinate. Furthermore, he retired in March of 2021. 20 seasons. Hall of Famer, one of the greatest to ever do it. And then what do you think he did? Before we get to pickleball, I need to spend a minute on that shoulder injury because it is directly relevant to every single person listening to this podcast right now. December 2005, Breeze tears his labrum and damages rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. You know, the one that pays him. He undergoes surgery performing by Dr. James Andrews, the most famous sports surgeon in the country. Andrews put 11 anchors in that labrum and two in the rotator cuff. Eleven anchors in one shoulder. Breeze later described the rehab as one of the hardest things he had ever done. But there is what he said about that floored me. And I want you to really hear this. You ready? He said, in a lot of ways, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I felt my shoulder was stronger than it ever had been after that rehab process. Right? Fell forward kind of topic. The injury that everyone thought would end his career, actually, and the one that made the Chargers walk away and the Dolphins pass on him, he came back from it and played 14. And let me say that again. 14 more years. He came back for 14 more years and broke almost every passing record in the history of the NFL. Now, why does this matter for your pickleball game? Yeah, that's a good question, if you're following so far. Because what Breeze learned through the comeback was a lesson every athlete eventually learns the hard way. Recovery is not a passive process, it is discipline. You hear that? He didn't just wait to get better, guys. He worked at it obsessively. Like a lot. He learned exactly how his shoulder functioned, what it needed, how to maintain it through the demands of NFL season. He carried that discipline for the remaining 14 years of his career. Which is a significant reason why he was still playing as an elite at 41 years old. Yes, 41. Guys, listen, the players who last the longest are not the most gifted. They are just not. They're not. They are the most committed to the work that happens off the field. All right? Lionel Messi, he is freaking amazing at soccer. You think he just goes home and eats taco Tuesdays? No. Okay? He's disciplined on and off the court. Or field in that case. If a Hall of Fame quarterback needed to build a disciplined recovery system to extend his career, what in the heck does that tell us about what we should be doing between pickleball sessions? I'll let you sit with that. Quick shout out to the brand that makes this possible, this podcast, Paddle Pro Balm. We just talked about Drew's Breeze building a recovery discipline that extended his career by over a decade. For us, the pickleball community, that's you, that's me, that same principle applies every single week. The shoulder, the elbow, and the knee, and more. They all need attention after you play, guys. Paddle Pro Balm is a plant-based transdermal recovery balm made specifically for paddle, pickle, ball, sports, and athletes. Apply it directly from head to toe anywhere on your skin that needs it before and after sessions. It delivers that fast localized relief and starts working on inflammation beneath the surface at the same time. It's not a mask, guys. It's actual recovery. Breeze had an entire NFL training staff. You've got Paddle Pro Bomb for $30 freaking dollars that lasts four months and is TSA approved in your pocket. Honestly, not bad. Paddleprobomb.com, paddleprobom.com. Don't forget to put your email in as a first-time user. You get an additional 25% off plus fast and free shipping. All right, let's get back. Okay, guys. March 2021. Drew Brees retires. Hall of Fame career officially complete. And now what? What is he gonna do? Here's a fact that I love, by the way. Drew Brees first played pickleball as a kid at summer camp. Back when it was wooden paddles and a ball that felt like a smaller version of tennis. He described loving anything racket related, ping pong, tennis, kind of like us, right? It didn't matter though. That was not a man who discovered pickleball after retirement. This is a man who played it before most of us even heard of it. Literally. Fast forward to 2018. Three years before he retires, and Breeze is building a sport court in his backyard, he specifically lines it for pickleball because he said it's the perfect family sport. Yes! The reigning NFL star, one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation, is lining his backyard with a pickleball court. I genuinely love this man. That is just freaking awesome. Then retirement hits, and Breeze does what elite competitors do. He goes all in. Here's the Drew B's pickleball empire as it currently stands. Are you ready for this? And I need you to understand that this is not a celebrity dabbling in a trend. This is a genuine aggressive investment in the sport. One, he is the co-owner of the LA Mad Drops. The Los Angeles Mad Drops are a major league pickleball team, and Breeze doesn't just own a slice. His co-owner includes NFL quarterback Josh Allen, NBA All-Star Jason Tatum, and others. This is serious sports ownership, guys. Two, he's an ambassador, investor, and a 30-unit franchise developer for the Pickler. The Pickler is the fastest-growing indoor pickleball facility claim, I guess, in North America. Brees signed on in January 2024, not just as a face on the poster, but as an area developer committed to opening 30 locations across the Midwest. His flagship in Noblesville, Indiana, opened in early 2025. It's 57,000 square feet, 19 indoor courts, champion-sized courts with permanent grandstands. That's a serious facility. 3. He hosts his own annual NOLA Pickleball Fest in New Orleans. This festival is actually interesting. It benefits the Breeze Dream Foundation and raises money for children and families in need. That's great. The last one features Breeze going head to head against tennis legend Andrew Agassi. Before that, John Monroe. The man is out here scheduling exhibition matches against Grand Slam champions on a pickleball court. You guys know John McMinro and Drew Breeze pickleball? If you told me that sentence in 2010, I would have had some questions. Fourth, because we're not done. He opened the pickler, pickle and pins in Metterlala, I don't know how you say that, Mettery, Louisiana. An entertainment venue featuring indoor pickleball courts alongside arcade games, axe throwing, wow, cornhall, and ping pong. Because apparently Drew Brees just wants everyone to have a frickin' amazing time. And five, he co-created an entirely new sport called Tippy. Tippy, across between tennis and pickleball, is played on a pickleball court with a small tennis racket and a foam ball. The ball is still in play. If it hits the net, you can hit it with your hand, your foot, or the racket handle itself. Breeze helped design the rules and tested it for years. Other investors include Tony Robbins, JJ Abrams, and Tiffany Hedish. This? I can't believe it. The man didn't retire from competition, guys. He just changed the sport. And he's dragging the entire mainstream sport world into pickleball conversation with him every step of the way. When a first ballot pro football Hall of Famer makes pickleball his post-retirement full-time career, I think that tells you everything you need to know about where the sport is going, right? Okay. Alright. This is the part where the story becomes a lesson. So get get your ears up into the mic. Because great storytelling without application is what? Just entertainment. And we are performance podcast at its core. Here are the three things Drew Breeze's story teaches every pickleball player, including me, okay? Number one, your biggest setback might be your only biggest setback. The shoulder injury in 2005 was supposed to end his career. Instead, it forced him to build a level of body awareness, recovery discipline, and physical intelligence that carried him to 41 years old at the top of his NFL game. The injury that the Chargers ran for, remember? It actually made him better. Sorry, Chargers. If you're dealing with a pickleball injury right now, an elbow, shoulder, knee, whatever, butt cheek, take the rehab seriously, guys. Build the discipline around it. Your body on the other side of proper recovery is often stronger than the smarter one it was before. Number two, elite longevity is built on recovery habits, not talent. Breeze was not the biggest quarterback. Matter of fact, he was tiny. Not the strongest arm. Nope. He was the most disciplined, though, the most accurate, and the most committed to the work that happened away from the game day. That is available to all of us today, right now, right this very minute. No physical gifts are required. Number three, competition doesn't have to end with career. Breeze didn't retire from being an athlete, guys. He retired from one arena and walked into another. Pickleball gave him competition, community physical activity, and most importantly, that I relate to, purpose. Post-NFL, that's part of why this sports growth story is so powerful. It gives people a competitive home at any age, any level, and any background. If Drew Brees, 20-year NFL veteran, Hall of Famer, Super Bowl MVP, found his place on a pickleball court, there is absolutely a place on that court for you. Drew Brees is not the only athlete who's made the jump into pickleball, guys, but he might be one doing it with the most intention, I think. The most investment for sure, and honestly, he gets a lot of joy. And he shows that joy. That's important. You watch him at Nola Picklefall Fest, going toe-to-toe with John McRaw and Andre Agassi. He's not performing, he's competing. That fire, you know, that burning fire doesn't go out just because the football career end. That's the thing about the sport that keeps me coming back to it every single week on this podcast. Pickleball doesn't care who you are. It's not judgy. Nope, no judgy. It only cares about who you show up as today. On the court with a paddle and a smile. Former NFL Hall of Flamer, retired weekend warrior, first timer with the sticker still on the paddle. Same court, same ball, same beautiful sport. Guys, that's episode 19. If you dug this one, please share it. I hope you really did. Please, please share it. It's only together, as I say, on every podcast that we can reach more. Subscribe, leave reviews, and send us emails at contact at paddleprobomb.com if you want to come on the podcast. That's it for today, guys. Have a beautiful hump day. Leave us a five-star review on the Apple Podcast or whatever platform you're on. Takes two minutes, less than that, and it helps us grow, helps you grow. Together we grow. Pickleball, after all, is what? It's one of the best communities I've ever seen. I'm your host. This has been the Pickleball Recovery and Performance Podcast, brought to you by Paddle Pro Recovery. Play hard. Recover smart, guys. And for what it's worth, if Drew Breeze is on the pickleball court somewhere right now, I hope he's having the time of his life. I'll catch you Friday.