Concerns for Drew Brees as video emerges of legendary quarterback being struck by lightning while filming a commercial

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Concerns for former professional football player Drew Brees began growing online after a video surfaced that appeared to show the NFL analyst getting struck by lightning while filming a commercial.

The former New Orleans Saints quarterback tweeted on Monday that he was “excited to be flying to a top-secret location” later in the week where he would be filming a promo for PointsBet, a sports betting app that markets itself in the US as being the “ultimate sportsbook for all things NFL”.

Mr Brees had apparently been filming the commercial for the sports betting company in Venezuela near the Catatumbo River, a region that sees large lightning bolts displayed an average of 297 days a year, according to an analysis published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The tweet that purported to show the apparent lightning strike, that has since been viewed nearly 400,000 times, was shared overnight. Mr Brees can be seen in the foreground of the video wearing a sweater with the number zero on it, while the iconic ripple of lightning over the river can be seen in the background.

A moment later, a large flash on camera accompanied by a loud crack of thunder as the camera drops to the ground and a woman is heard shouting.

PointsBet did not confirm whether the legendary football star had been struck in the filming of the commercial, but wrote on Twitter on Friday morning in a statement that the company was “aware of the media coverage regarding PointsBet brand ambassador Drew Brees.”

“We are in communication with Brees’ team and will continue to monitor events throughout the coming hours. At this stage we will not be making any further comment.”

Mr Brees team has not commented on the incident.

ESPN reporter for the New Orleans Saints Katherine Terrell tweeted on Friday morning shortly after the news began making the rounds online that she had been in communication with the former NFL star, and said that he was indeed “fine”.

“I just texted Drew Brees. He said he’s good and that he did not get struck by lightning,” tweeted Ms Terrell.