Drew Brees career competition percentage: How NFL's most accurate QB of all time stands apart in Hall of Fame

The moment Drew Brees retired from the NFL after the 2020 season, it was only a matter of time before he became a Hall-of-Famer.

Brees led the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl victory and led the league in passing many times, producing dynamic numbers at the height of the passing revolution. Along with quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers, Brees elevated quarterback play to a new height.

For Brees specifically, though, the Saints quarterback was especially known for his accuracy. Brees led the league in completion percentage six times in his career and broke records for how accurate he was as a quarterback.

Here's a breakdown of how Brees accuracy helped him build a Hall of Fame career.

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Drew Brees career completion percentage

Drew Brees finished his career with a completion percentage of 67.7 percent over 20 seasons. He is first among all retied quarterbacks, as players like Chad Pennington, Matt Ryan, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Tony Romo are right behind him.

As quarterbacks have become more accurate, active quarterbacks are hovering around Brees' number. Of the top 12 players on the all-time completion percentage list, 11 are currently active, leaving just Brees as the only retired player.

Following the 2025 season, Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa are the only players in the NFL with career completion percentages above Brees' number.

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NFL completion percentage record

Drew Brees set the record for best single-season completion percentage a few times in his career. First, in 2009, Brees tied the record originally set by Ken Anderson in 1982 with a completion percentage of 70.6 percent. Then, Brees upped his game by breaking the record in both 2011 and 2017 with completion percentages of 71.2 percent and 72.0 percent.

Finally, in 2018, Brees set the completion percentage record for the third and final time, when he produced a 74.4 completion percentage season. While he, and others, have approached that record in recent years, Brees still holds firm atop the all-time leaderboard.

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Drew Brees stats

• Years: 20
• Games: 287
• Completion percentage: 67.7 percent 
• Passing yards: 80,358
• Touchdowns: 571
• Interceptions: 243
• Passer rating: 98.7

Brees ended his career as one of the best quarterbacks ever, as his completion percentage is the best amongst retired players. He is also second to just Tom Brady all-time in both passing yards and passing touchdowns, as he is one of just two player ever to cross the 80,000-yard mark.

In his 20-year career, Brees led the league in passing yards seven times, completion percentage six times, and passing touchdowns four times. He also threw 20 interceptions in a season just once.