The New Orleans Saints’ past, present and future are once again aligned: Drew Brees agreed to a two-year, $50 million contract, according to an NFL Network report, officially bringing him back in the fold for a 20th NFL season and 15th in a Saints uniform.

This is identical to the last extension Brees signed in 2018. His $25 million average annual value last season ranked No. 10 among NFL quarterbacks, and he will almost assuredly rank lower this season.

This latest deal will put Brees in a company of one in terms of total career earnings, making him the first player in NFL history to surpass more than $260 million in career earnings. At the conclusion of the 2019 season, he ranked third behind New Orleans natives Eli ($252.3 million) and Peyton Manning ($248.7 million), according to spotrac.com’s records.

The top of the NFL’s historical statistical landscape is no foreign place to Brees, who this season will add to his career-record totals in completions (6,867), yards passing (77,416) and passing touchdowns (547). He needs to attempt just nine passes to break Brett Favre’s career mark, and he is the all-time leader in career completion percentage (67.6) as well.

Among his peers at the peak of the quarterbacking hierarchy, Brees separated himself through remarkably consistent high-end statistical output — particularly during his time in New Orleans.

Brees has compiled five 5,000-yard passing seasons, a feat no other quarterback has accomplished more than once. He topped 4,000 yards passing in 12 consecutive seasons (no other quarterback has more than nine), a streak that was only snapped when Brees sat the final game of the 2018 season 8 yards shy of hitting the mark again. His 10 seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes — all with the Saints — are more than any NFL quarterback in NFL history.

Even as an injured thumb on his throwing hand shortened his 2019 season by five games (and most of a sixth), Brees turned in yet another dazzling entry in a brilliant career last season. At 40 years old, Brees averaged nearly 300 yards passing in the 10 full games he played while posting career-high marks in passer rating (116.3) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (27:4) as the Saints went 8-3 in his regular-season starts.

Though Brees may not have all the tools he once had at his disposal, his 2019 campaign was an assault on a notion his game was diminishing at his advanced age; the way he went about it might have changed, but he was still competing at an elite level.

For the past three years now, Brees has assessed his playing future at the end of each season. And yet, for perhaps the first time, Brees gave retirement serious consideration after New Orleans’ 2019 season reached a surprising end in an overtime playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

In an appearance this offseason on the Greg Hill Show on WEEI radio in Boston, the 41-year-old Brees said he believes he could physically play until he is 45 years old. But whether he can play at the level he is accustomed to is not all he is considering at this stage of his career.

“It's, 'What are you sacrificing in order to be able to play this game and give it the time and dedication that it deserves?’” Brees said. “Because, even in the offseason, there is a lot of time and dedication to this.”

He allowed himself six weeks following the loss to reflect on the season, his career and his future. As an organization, the Saints gave him space to decide. In a February 18 Instagram post, Brees announced he was returning for the 2020 season.

In the caption of that post, Brees made something else clear: Despite the fact he was not currently under contract, when he returned, it would only be in Saints uniform.

“Love you #WhoDatNation," Brees wrote. "Let's make another run at it!"

With Brees back in the mix, the Saints now at least have one quarterback under contract for the 2020 season. What remains to be seen is who else will join him in the quarterback room.

Teddy Bridgewater, who directed the Saints to an unblemished 5-0 record as a starter while Brees was sidelined, reportedly reached an agreement with the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers on contract that will pay him near $60 million over three years.

Taysom Hill, meanwhile, is restricted free agent and has expressed a desire to remain in New Orleans, potentially to serve as Brees’ successor. The Saints reportedly placed a first-round tender on Hill. That tender is projected to pay $4.7 million for 2020.

Assigning Hill a first-round tender gives the Saints the option to match any offer sheet if they don't extend him before the start of free agency on Wednesday.

If Hill signs an offer sheet with another team and the Saints choose not to match, they'd be granted a first-round pick as compensation.

That Brees' new contract agreement came to light Tuesday was fitting.

On the same day, the Panthers announced they were seeking a trade partner for Cam Newton, whom had spent the last nine seasons as Carolina's starter. Philip Rivers, who has been the Chargers starting quarterback ever since usurping that position from Brees following the 2005 season, agreed to a reported one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts. Finally, Tom Brady announced on his social media platforms he would not return to New England, where he spent the first 20 years of his career, where he won six Super Bowl titles.

On a day of change at the NFL's most high-profile position, Brees and New Orleans became the longest married quarterback-city couple in the NFL — yet another list with Brees on top.