“Who dat?!” asked millions of New Orlean’s Saints fans (both diehards and fairweather) as quarterback Drew Brees led the Big Easy’s football team to a 31 to 17 victory over the favored Indianapolis Colts. He was named MVP that year to add a cherry on top of his victory celebration, and while the Saints haven’t returned to the big game since, Brees still calls New Orleans (and the Saints) his home.
So it should come as no surprise that Brees opted to put his Hugger Orange 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS up for auction this past weekend through the Vicari Auction Company. Besides the attraction of owning a Camaro once driven by a living, breathing Super Bowl MVP, Brees also threw in a few extras to make the auction more appealing. It’s no wonder why an otherwise unremarkable 1969 Camaro reached a high bid of $62,500 when the gavel fell, because the next-highest first-gen Camaro sold for less than half that.
First, let’s get details about the car out of the way. The Hugger Orange 1969 Camaro SS comes with a numbers-matching 396ci V8, matched to a period-correct (but not numbers-matching) TH350 transmission. The interior was upgraded to top-of-the-line factory specifications, and a new vinyl “sport roof” was installed to compliment the black striping. In other words, it was built to look good and be driven.
To sweeten the deal, Brees also tossed into the deal an autographed jersey, autographed game cleats, four tickets to a game during the 2015 season, as well as a meet and greet with up to 10 people at the Saints facility for the winning bidder. Somebody bought a lot more than just another 1969 Camaro, there’s no doubt about that. Should Brees ever be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, someone will be sitting on a huge pile of Brees collectibles.
Who says classic cars can’t be good investments?