New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a Super Bowl-winner in his 18th season with the NFL.
At 39, he's roughly 13 years older than the average player in the NFL, according to ESPN. But the star quarterback has no plans to leave the field any time soon.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Brees says that he plans to continue playing football until he's 45, and wants to win at least one more Super Bowl. To make this possible, he follows a strict daily routine that includes mental preparation, physical conditioning and a healthy dose of what some might call superstition.
For Brees, everything has to add up — literally. He performs 53 reps of various core exercises every day, because that's the number of the next Super Bowl. For a long time, he completed numbers of reps and throws for the day that could be evenly divided by nine, his jersey number.
"I feel like I'm constantly counting," he says. "It has to hit a certain number. If I get that number in my head, then I'm like, 'I'm not stopping until I get to this number.' And that number on a daily basis might have a different significance."
"I know where I'm going to be at a specific time," he says. "I know what I'm going to be doing; I know what needs to be accomplished for me to feel confident and go out there and play at the highest level."
Take a look at his schedule for the week:
Having played on Sunday or Monday, Brees allows himself a bit of quiet time in the morning before spending two hours checking emails, completing personal tasks and reading one of the 20 or so books he has on his reading list. In 2017, he told The Huffington Post that he usually wakes up during the off-season around 4 or 4:30 a.m. so that he can get things done before his kids wake up. During the season, he says he wakes up around 5 a.m.
On Wednesday, he studies film, including first and second downs and the running game plan.
On Thursday, he studies third down plays, looking for ways to improve.
Fridays are for studying red zone plays, and looking at yard shortages and goal line plays.
While Saturdays are usually a day off for NFL players, Brees sometimes creates his own practice sessions. Zach Strief, Brees' former teammate, tells The Washington Post that a few years ago when the team was asked to gather on a Saturday before a home game, he found Brees in the weight room practicing his plays for the next day.
"For a half-hour on a Saturday, when most everyone else had prepped enough and moved on, Brees kept at it: a new play, how the defense might react and reactions and adjustments at game speed," said Strief.
Brees' extreme focus has paid off. He has 11 Pro Bowls and led the NFL in passing yards for seven seasons. Earlier this year, he broke the league record for most completed passes. If he gains 201 yards in his next showing on Monday, Oct. 8, he'll have the most passing yards in an NFL career, breaking records set by Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.
When asked by ESPN if his approach to his next game will be any different since he's on the verge of a new record, Brees says his objective is to "focus on my preparation and my process and let the rest take care of itself."
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