The NFL Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for Saturday, August 8. New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees is one of several inductees for the 2026 class. On Thursday, a video shared by the organization’s social account on X revealed that Brees asked his former head coach, Sean Payton, to be his presenter.
Payton, who is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos, was overcome with emotion when the 47-year-old former quarterback asked him to present him at the Hall of Fame. Sean Payton did not hesitate and agreed to Brees’ request.
“Honest to God, I can’t believe you just did that,” Payton said, wiping tears from his face. “Yeah. Absolutely, man.”
“I can’t believe you just did that” 🥹@DrewBrees asks @SeanPayton to present him at the @ProFootballHOF
🎥: @GregBensel pic.twitter.com/GKJniyiJLj
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 30, 2026
Payton was Brees’ head coach in New Orleans for 14 total seasons. They both joined the Saints in the same offseason in 2006, as the club hired Sean Payton that year while also signing Drew Brees as a free agent. The two led the way for the franchise in the 2009-10 campaign, which resulted in a championship in Super Bowl XLIV.
During those 14 years (would have been 15 but Payton was suspended for the entire 2012-13 season due to Bountygate), Drew Brees was revered as one of the league’s best quarterbacks. By the time he called it a career after the 2020-21 season, Brees had accumulated 68,010 passing yards and 491 touchdowns in New Orleans.
He was also named the Offensive Player of the Year twice (2008, 2011), a First-Team All-Pro (2006), a four-time Second-Team All-Pro, a 12-time Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl MVP (2009-10). That was just his accolades with the Saints, as that doesn’t include the first five years of his career with the then-San Diego Chargers.
The NFL Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for Saturday, August 8. New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees is one of several inductees for the 2026 class. On Thursday, a video shared by the organization’s social account on X revealed that Brees asked his former head coach, Sean Payton, to be his presenter.
