Drew Brees, the future Hall of Fame quarterback who broke numerous NFL records, spent 20 years in the pros getting bruised up by defenders with bad intentions. As such, he often has to explain the mark on his face.
You might think it’s a permanent scar of some kind given to him as a Christmas gift by a Buccaneers defensive lineman — and few would blame you if made such an assumption — but this is not the case. The mark, perhaps anticlimactically, does not have as dramatic of an origin story as you might think.
The best moment of mistaken identity that the mark ever received came courtesy of Oprah Winfrey. Brees appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2010 and after he was introduced, he sat down with the crowd still applauding. Oprah, in an unintended hilarious gesture after she had greeted the New Orleans Saints quarterback, thought he had lipstick on his right cheek and quickly tried wiping the mark off while asking, “Who just kissed you?” Oprah quickly realized it wasn’t lipstick and the awkward moment now lives in infamy.
What is the mark on Drew Brees’ cheek?
The mark on Drew Brees’ cheek is simply a birthmark. Despite being one of the more famous athletes in the United States for two decades, the now retired Super Bowl XLIV MVP still has to deal with people mistaking his birthmark for a dirt mark, sparking explanatory articles such as the one you’re currently reading.
Oprah isn’t the only beloved daytime talk show host who loves Brees, by the way. To say that Hoda Kotb is a huge fan of his is a major understatement. She’s had him as a guest on the Today Show a few times, though she hasn’t yet tried wiping the birthmark off his face.