Drew Brees‘ lengthy NFL career came to an end back in March of 2021. While he tried to move into the world of broadcasting, Brees left NBC Sports after a year in an effort to pursue other opportunities. On Friday, we learned that one of those opportunities was an ad campaign with a sportsbook that involved him pretending to get hit by lightning.
This video started to makes its way around Twitter on Friday morning, and appeared to show Brees on the set of a commercial. While he was getting mic’d up, there was a big bolt of lightning, and the implication is that it hit Brees and caused him to have a very bad time.
Estrella de la @NFL @drewbrees fue impactado por un relámpago en el Catatumbo mientras grabábamos un comercial al sur del lago de Maracaibo. Pasó hace unas horas. Más información en breve… pic.twitter.com/b8PQdRpdtN
— Rafael Hernández (@sincepto) December 2, 2022
It doesn’t look real, but hey, crazier things have happened. People started to wonder if Brees was, you know, dead, but Katherine Terrell of ESPN texted Brees in an effort to figure out what was going on. Surprise: It was an ad.
I just texted Drew Brees. He said he’s good and that he did not get struck by lightning.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 2, 2022
For further proof that this is not real, here is a video that PointsBet posted shortly after the original video started going viral. It involves Brees sitting in an ambulance in a PointsBet jersey. Brees claims he is in Venezuela in “the most active hotspot for lightning strikes in the world,” which leads to the ad read about free lightning bets this weekend.
Time to let you in on a little fun we’ve had with @drewbrees guys. He’s alive and well and “buzzing” for a weekend of free bets. Keep your eyes on our channels all weekend for bet drops for US vs. Netherlands, College Football and NFL. pic.twitter.com/vhnLm5S0Cw
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) December 2, 2022
So, there you go, Drew Brees is alive.