Drew Brees Reveals Which of His 4 Kids Is His Favorite

Former NFL star Drew Brees isn’t afraid to admit that one of his kids holds an extra special place in his heart.

Brees, 45, noted that his relationships with his sons Baylen, 15, Bowen, 13, and Callen, 11, are “different” than his bond with his daughter, Rylen, 11.

“My boys are like, ‘You spoil Rylen, you give her everything she wants,’” Brees said on the Wednesday, April 10, episode of the “Making Space With Hoda Kotb” podcast. “I’m like, ‘Yes, she will always be Daddy’s little girl. And yes, she is my favorite.’”

Brees noted that his sons don’t want to listen to him. "It's like they don't want to hear it,” he said, adding that the challenge for parents of teenagers "is to put their teens in front of adults who will impart a similar wisdom, like teachers and coaches. Teens will listen to the lessons parents want to teach them ... but only if they come from a different source."

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Brees added that through his coaching and mentoring he can take on that role for other people’s children. "I have a chance to be a powerful influence in the lives of those kids. That's why I love to coach," he said. "Honestly, I think there's nothing that gives me more pride than walking around my kids' school and them calling me Coach Drew or Coach Brees.”

While he may have retired from the NFL in March 2021, Brees noted he’s coaching “anything he has a chance to kind of get his hands on.” But he added, “The challenge for me I think with my kids is I don’t want them to feel any unnecessary pressure for being the son of Drew Brees or the expectations that come along with [that]. I want them to be able to blaze their own path.”

He continued: “Yes, Dad has this unique knowledge base and skill set based on what I did and I always want to be there to help them with that. But they’re at this stage where if they want that, they have to come to me to ask.”

When host Hoda Kotb asked whether his kids want his wisdom, he said “sometimes.”

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“I’ve got kind of an agreement with most of the guys that I coach with, where if their son needs to be coached, I do it, and if my son needs to be coached, I’ll whisper something to them and then they’ll go do it,” he said. “Because they’re going to listen to them more so than they listen to me right now.”

He continued: “Point being is that I take very serious the opportunity that I have now to impart that mentorship piece and that wisdom on a lot of these young men because I want them all of a sudden in high school or college, when they encounter a tough situation or some adversity and they need a bit of advice, then maybe I’ll be the one they call and lean on.”

The former quarterback has been married to his wife, Brittany Brees, since 2003. He gushed about their romance exclusively to Us Weekly in July 2022, saying, “I can say this: I fall in love with my wife more every day and I find that I continue to pursue her every day. I don’t want to get complacent in a relationship or a marriage where it’s like every day’s groundhog day and getting the kids ready for school and this and that.”