The $100 Million Underdog

“I’d rather be lucky than good” is the mantra of golfers who know all too well that a fortuitous bounce can be worth as much as hundreds of hours of practice. I might apply it to this 2012 cover story on Drew Brees. It was a jam-packed weekend. I flew out to San Diego to interview the cast of Expendables 2 at Comic-Con on Friday, then spend Saturday observing Drew Brees—training, practicing, etc. The lucky bounce for me: his much-scrutinized contract negotiations with the Saints finished between the workout and the photo shoot, and so I just happened to be the first reporter who got to talk to him about it. He sat in the wardrobe chair and was perfectly serene, saying, “I see this money as yet to be earned… To whom much is given, much is required.” Great lessons here about the value of focus, which the man possesses in superhuman quantities.