17-year NFL veteran Drew Brees is currently 38-years-old.

While the NFL is arguably the most difficult sport to excel in at an advanced age, Brees has proven to be an anomaly, completing 70.0 percent of his passes while throwing for 5,208 yards with 37 touchdowns and 15 interceptions last season for the New Orleans Saints.

As a member of the Saints organization since 2006 and with a Super Bowl victory under his belt, Brees has established himself as one of the best pure passers in the NFL, throwing for over 5,000 yards in five different seasons in that span.

With 465 touchdowns and 66,111 yards and counting, he has made the case to be considered among the best QBs ever.

But, all good things must come to an end. 

Heading into the final year of his current contract with the Saints, Brees still hasn’t received an extension, which is interesting, given his recent success and consistency.

However, Brees isn’t willing to let that bother him, as he told Mike Triplett of ESPN:

"I'm trying to put the [contract] conversation to bed just by saying ... we can worry about it at the end of the year. I think that's what's in the best interest of the team. It's what's in my best interest. It's in the best interest of everybody,” Brees said.

While he’s planning to play the upcoming season and well beyond that, he believes the organization needs to be prepared to imagine what life would be like without him in the near future.

"Listen, when I leave here I want this organization to be successful, whenever that is. So I want them to be prepared for that. They need to be thinking about that. But I don't want to make it seem like this is my farewell tour. That's not the way I view it. I'm just trying to stress the sense of urgency here," said Brees.

So, in other words, he’s looking for a Super Bowl run this upcoming season. If not, there’s a chance that he might move on to a different opportunity, allowing a fresh start for both him and the Saints.

While you can sense the compassion that he has for the organization, you can also sense that he’s been fed up with the results of recent seasons, which have ended in disappointment.

But, 2017 is a new year and a new opportunity.

In no way is Brees planning to call it quits after next season, either. It seems like Tom Brady will have a rival in terms of being the oldest elite quarterback in the league for years to come.

"For the record, I was the first to say that I could play till I was 45, and that was three years ago prior to training camp. Am I right?" Brees quipped. "I said it just to make the point that I feel great and I love my routine, and every offseason I evaluate where I'm at, I assess what I need to do to get better, the areas I think I can tweak, things I might want to experiment with. There's more and more information we're able to get as far as diet and nutrition and training habits, recovery, all those things. ... And I feel like I can play till 45 if I wanted to do that.”

He went on, “‘Now I want to go out on my terms. I might play till I'm 45, but I'm not gonna sit here and sell you something that I don't know to be the case. I just want to play at a high level. I want to help us win a championship.’"

Saints fans everywhere better hope and pray that they have a deep run in the playoffs in this upcoming season. If not, a major rebuilding process might take place if they lose their franchise quarterback in free agency.