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Dwyane Wade went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High hoping to spread some goodwill and bring much-needed smiles to faces of students and teachers.

He also went to listen 鈥?and was impressed by what the kids said.

Speaking Thursday about his surprise visit the previous day to the school in Parkland Adidas Joe Thornton Jersey , Florida were 17 people 鈥?mostly students 鈥?were shot and killed last month, the Miami Heat guard said he was stunned to see how well-organized the Douglas students are already in their quest for fast and substantive societal change.

"They are well-prepared and well-aware of what they need to do and what they want to do and the change they want to see," Wade said. "It's great. It's great to hear. It's great to see that, because I come from a community in Chicago where our youth are getting killed daily and don't have the same voice, don't have the same light on them that Parkland has. These kids understand what they have."

Numerous students posted video and photos of Wade's visit on social media. Only a few of Wade's closest advisers were aware of his plan to go to the school Wednesday in advance, and students made clear his visit provided a huge emotional lift.

"Greatest moment of my life," student Joey Pelose said of the Wade visit.

Wade's family has been touched multiple times by gun violence, including when his cousin 鈥?a mother of four 鈥?was shot and killed on a Chicago street in 2016, with police saying she was not the intended target.

The shooting in Parkland has affected him deeply as well, not just for the school's proximity to Miami and to a school that one of his sons attends, but also because one of the victims was buried in a Wade jersey. Wade has also met with the family of that teen, Joaquin Oliver Authentic Frank Ragnow Jersey , and promised them that he would keep using his voice to help facilitate change.

"It's a call to action for all of us and we're honored to be just a small part of it to support them 鈥?and hopefully give them all a much bigger megaphone," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We can help with that, but what bigger megaphone can you have than Dwyane Wade going down there and allowing their voices to be heard so many other places. That's powerful."

Wade's visit was one of several examples of how the sports world keeps trying to help the school heal.

Major League Baseball teams all wore Stoneman Douglas hats in their spring-training openers. Last week, a contingent of representatives from the Heat (including Spoelstra and players Udonis Haslem, Justise Winslow and Kelly Olynyk, plus Haslem's wife Faith), the Florida Panthers, the Miami Marlins and Miami Dolphins all privately met with five families of students who were wounded in the Feb. 14 massacre to offer help.

Earlier this week, the Panthers arranged for the school's hockey team to hoist and skate with the Stanley Cup.

"We know we did the right thing," said Panthers executive Shawn Thornton, who helped arrange the Cup visit.

And Wednesday night, when the U.S. women's national soccer team beat England 1-0 to win the SheBelieves Cup tournament in Orlando Dontae Johnson Jersey Seahawks , Florida, the match was preceded by a moment of silence for Douglas soccer player and shooting victim Alyssa Alhadeff. Her family and teammates all received U.S. jerseys with Alhadeff's name and number on them.

"Just when I think there are no more tears to cry," student Aly Sheehy wrote on Twitter in response to the gesture at the U.S.-England match. "Thank you ... for allowing us to come and heal."

Florida lawmakers earlier this week passed a school safety bill with new restrictions on rifle sales and a program to arm some teachers, though it remains unclear if Gov. Rick Scott will sign the bill 鈥?which has the support of victims' families 鈥?into law.

The rest of the NFL can dispense with any notions of luring Drew Brees away from the team – and city – where the star quarterback has flourished for more than a decade now.

Two people familiar with the contract say Brees has agreed to a two-year, $50 million extension with the New Orleans Saints. The people say $27 million is guaranteed in the first year.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because the agreement has not been announced.

Brees, who turned 39 in January, was due to become a free agent on Wednesday. But he has said he wanted to finish his career in New Orleans, where he has played since 2006, won a Super Bowl and led what has been one of the most productive offenses in the NFL since he and coach Sean Payton arrived.

”I’ll be here as long as they’ll have me,” Brees said after last season ended in January.

Now his return is assured to a team that came within one play of advancing to last season’s NFC championship game, falling at Minnesota when the Vikings scored an unlikely, 61-yard touchdown on the final play of their divisional-round NFC playoff game.

Last season Sandy Koufax Jersey , Brees completed an NFL-record 72 percent of his passes for 4,334 yards and 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He ranked fourth in the NFL in yards passing and the Saints ranked second in the NFL in total offense.

A second-round draft choice by San Diego in 2001, Brees has passed for 70,445 yards and 488 touchdowns in 17 seasons – 58,097 yards and 408 touchdowns in 12 seasons with New Orleans.

He has passed for more than 5,000 yards in a season five times, most recently in 2016. In 2011, Brees was at the helm of an offense that gained an NFL-record 7,474 yards.

By the time Brees’ new contract expires, he could very well be the NFL’s all-time leader in yards and touchdowns passing. Currently, Peyton Manning holds those marks with 71,940 yards and 539 touchdowns. Brett Favre also is ahead of Brees – for now – with 71 Authentic D.J. Fluker Jersey , 838 yards and 508 TDs passing.

Brees has been New Orleans’ franchise player during the franchise’s greatest era, which has been highlighted by a Super Bowl championship in the 2009 season and five other playoff seasons.

He arrived when his NFL future was uncertain, as was the future of Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. Coming off throwing-shoulder surgery, Brees led the Saints – who had gone 3-13 the year before he arrived – to their first NFC title game.

In the process, Brees and the Saints became a symbol of New Orleans’ resurgence after the storm that flooded 80 percent of the city, flourishing together during the past decade-plus of recovery.

”Certainly, the relationship with this city will always play a strong role in me wanting to be here and … wanting to finish my career here,” Brees said.

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