Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara had every reason to be furious with the NFL after their controversy-laden NFC championship game loss to the Los Angeles Rams. But they put their raw emotions to the side to do a solid for the league and take part in the star-studded NFL ad that played during the Super Bowl. Star-studded NFL spot In case you missed it, the Saints players, along with a who’s who of past and current NFL players, took part in the Sunday spot that saw a makeshift football game break out at banquet emceed by commissioner Roger Goodell. Football Morning in America’s Peter King got the inside scoop on how it was made. The spot was originally conceived as a kickoff commercial for the league’s 100th season that starts in the fall. Idea was pitched to kick off next season But NFL chief marketing officer Tim Ellis told King that he wanted it for the Super Bowl after the idea was brainstormed. So they fast-tracked the production and filmed it in the middle of the NFL playoffs, putting the whole thing together with filming that started in January. “The turnaround was incredibly fast,” Ellis told King. “There’s almost 50 stars in it, and we didn’t start contacting people till last December. … And we taped it in mid-January. The reason we were able to pull it off is because it felt genuine and authentic to the players. The players said, ‘Whoever put this together knows football. '” Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara took part in an NFL ad applauding Roger Goodell after their brutal loss to the Rams in the NFC championship. (Getty) The spot features Marshawn Lynch, Joe Montana, Patrick Mahomes, Jim Brown and a slew of other Hall of Famers and players who seemed destined to end up in Canton — or at least have a reasonable shot. Story continues It starts with Lynch knocking an ornamental football from atop a giant cake while trying to sneak a taste during Goodell’s speech, leading to chaos as players battle for possession of the loose ball. Saints players suck it up after controversy King reports that Brees and Kamara filmed their portion — which features a brief clip of the two applauding Goodell — after their loss to the Rams. Considering that almost all of Who Dat Nation was demanding that Goodell enact his commissioner’s power to call for a do-over of the game, it’s a testament to the united front the players take for the good of the league. Following that brutal loss, the last thing Brees and Kamara likely felt like doing was praising Goodell. More from Yahoo Sports: • Schwab: The nightmare game that ‘kills’ Rams’ Goff • A giant mess on TV as CBS tries to interview Brady • Another Super Bowl, another Pats locker-room crasher • Rams coach after loss: ‘Definitely, I got outcoached’<doc-sep>Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune reported that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had no plans to attend the NFL Honors awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 2. That’s something of a surprise, because Brees is one of the leading candidates to win the NFL’s award for Most Valuable Player in the 2018 season. Sure, Brees isn’t the favorite to win MVP. That distinction belongs to Kansas City Chiefs sensation Patrick Mahomes. But it’s unusual for one of the contenders for the league’s highest honor to miss the occasion altogether. Brees did not suggest he knew he would not be winning the award to the Times-Picayune, so it’s possible he just wants to spend more time with his family and young children. The race between Brees and Mahomes was neck-and-neck throughout the 2018 season, but it seems Mahomes pulled away a bit in the final regular season games. What’s frustrating for Brees and his fans is that he’s never won league MVP in his long and storied NFL career, and there’s a good chance that 2018 was his best shot. What makes it worse is that every time Brees has set new NFL records to qualify, the goalposts have been shifted by voters to disappoint him. When Brees had the volume stats over more-efficient passers in 2009 and 2011, he was passed over. But when the tables were turned and he rewrote a number of efficiency standards in 2018, the discourse has centered around Mahomes’ sky-high volume production. So, there’s always next year. Whether Brees wins the MVP award or not, it’ll be that long until he makes an appearance in front of the cameras at the NFL Honors broadcast.<doc-sep>
A pair of Saints stars put their hard feelings aside to take part in one of the best commercials that aired during Super Bowl LIII. Perhaps the most exciting part of Super Bowl Sunday was an NFL 100th anniversary commercial featuring a plethora of NFL stars, old and new. The promo centers around a black-tie banquet hosted by league commissioner Roger Goodell. Among those tabled were Saints stars Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara. NFL chief marketing officer Tim Ellis told NBC Sports' Peter King that filming for the viral commercial took place during the middle of the NFL playoffs and several segments were shot at different locations. Brees and Kamara participated in the spot following New Orleans' loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. "Logistics were fun," King writes in his column. "With the spot being taped in the middle of the playoffs, Ellis had some faux banquet rooms, with tight shots, built with the same décor as the L.A. venue. [Baker] Mayfield flew to Boston and did his piece with [Tom] Brady there. [Patrick] Mahomes flew to Orlando and did his piece with [Russell] Wilson there, making a throw that was 'caught' on the L.A. set by [Odell] Beckham. Extra credit to Brees and Kamara for doing their piece in New Orleans a couple of days after the bitter loss in the NFL title game." The NFL released behind-the-scenes footage of its making of the video on Sunday. It's not as dramatic as the actual commercial that aired, but the jokes, flips and mashing that took place to put it all together is certainly interesting.