Brett Favre

Brett Lorenzo Favre (pronounced as /farv/) is a professional football player currently signed as a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). After declaring his resignation from professional football after a one season stint at New York with the Jets, Favre officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009.

Favre is also recognized for his 16-year affiliation with the Green Bay Packers, whom he led to seven division championships, four NFC championship games, and two Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XXXI. He is statistically one of the greatest quarterbacks to play in the NFL. He holds the Most Consecutive Starts by a Quarterback Record in the NFL. Favre's jersey worn during his record breaking 117th consecutive start is already on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, carrying the tag "Iron Man".

Favre's first retirement was in 2008, which he came out of, then was traded to the New York Jets. He retired again after an unspectacular season with the New York Jets then un-retired for the second time to sign with the Vikings. Some critics claimed his comebacks are tarnishing his legacy as a superb football player.

Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and raised in the small town of Kiln. He is of French and Choctaw ancestry; one of his paternal grandparents was a Native American affiliated with the Choctaw. He was the second of four children and attended Hancock North Central High School where he played baseball and football. Favre started for the Hancock North Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters. He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre.

Irvin Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs. As a result, in the three years Brett was on the team, his father ran a run-oriented offense called the wishbone. Favre rarely threw more than five passes in a game.

College Career

After high school Southern Mississippi offered Favre a scholarship (the only one he received). Southern Miss wanted him to play defensive back but Favre wanted to play quarterback instead. Favre began his freshman year as the seventh-string quarterback and took over the starting position in the second half of the third game of the year against Tulane on September 19, 1987. Favre, despite suffering a hangover from the night before and vomiting during warm-ups, led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory with two touchdown passes.

In his junior season, Favre led the Golden Eagles to an upset of Florida State (then ranked sixth in the nation) on September 2, 1989. Favre capped a six-and-a-half-minute drive with the game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining.

On July 14, 1990, before the start of Favre's senior year at Southern Miss, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. When going around a bend a few tenths of a mile from his parents' house, Favre lost control of his car, which flipped three times and came to rest against a tree. It was only after one of his brothers smashed a car window with a golf club that Favre could be evacuated to the hospital. In the ambulance, his mother was sitting with him. "All I kept asking [her] was 'Will I be able to play football again?'" Favre recalled later. Doctors would later remove 30inches (760mm) of Favre's small intestine. Six weeks after this incident, on September 8, Favre led Southern Miss to a comeback victory over Alabama. Alabama coach Gene Stallings said, "You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life."

Favre continues to hold various Southern Miss football records. As of the end of the 2007 season, he holds the career individual record in the following categories: most plays, most total yards gained, most passing yards gained, most completions made, and most passing attempts made. He had held the record for the most touchdowns scored (52), but it was later tied by quarterback Lee Roberts, who played for the school from 1995-98. Favre had 15 games over his career where he compiled more than 200 passing yards, making him the fourth all-time school leader in that category. Of those 15 games, 5 were 300-yard games, the most compiled by any of the school's quarterbacks. Additionally, he was the seasonal leader in total passing and total offense in all four of his seasons at Southern Miss.


Atlanta Falcons (1991)

Favre declared eligible for the 1991 NFL Draft and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the 33rd overall in the second round. On July 19, 1991, Favre agreed to a 3-year, $1.4 million term that included $350,000 signing bonus.

Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville did not approve of the rookie quarterback's drafting, saying that it would take a plane crash for him to play Favre. Favre's first regular NFL season game featured an interception returned for a touchdown. While playing in Atlanta, he attempted four passes, was intercepted twice and had zero completions.

The following offseason, Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf traded Tony Smith for Favre. While serving as an assistant GM of the New York Jets, Wolf had originally intended to pick Favre in the 1991 NFL draft, but was beaten by the Falcons on the previous pick. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Favre was diagnosed with avascular necrosis during the trade's physical exam, the same degenerative hip condition that ended Bo Jackson's career. The doctors recommended his physical be failed, but Wolf overruled them.


Green Bay Packers (1992 - 2007)

Favre made his debut as a Packer in the second half of the second game of the 1992 NFL season, after head coach Mike Holmgren benched starter Don Majkowski and the Buccaneers leading 17-0 at halftime. During the game, Favre threw a pass that was deflected, which he caught back but was tackled and went for -7 yards. The Packers lost the game 31-3.

In the third game of 1992, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Majkowski injured a ligament in his ankle and Favre replaced him for the remainder of the game. Favre fumbled four times during the course of the game, a performance poor enough that the crowd chanted for Ty Detmer to replace Favre. However, down 23-17 with 1:07 left in the game, Farve started a series of offensive plays starting on their own 8-yard line. Three plays later, he threw a touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor that won the game with 13 seconds remaining.

The next game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, started for Favre the NFL's longest streak of consecutive starts for a quarterback in history. The game ended in a 17-3 Packers victory, with Favre earning a passer rating of 144.6. During the 1992 season, Favre led the Packers to a six-game winning marathon, the franchise' longest winning marathon since 1965. The Packers ended 9-7 in 1992, missing the playoffs shy of the last game. Favre made the Pro-Bowl team the first time of his career.

Favre played 16 seasons, starting all games, in Green Bay. During his time in Green Bay, Favre was the first NFL player to win three AP MVP awards, a feat he only shared with Barry Sanders. He led the Packers into two Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XXXI.


First Retirement and Return (2008)

On March 4, 2008, Favre announced his intentions to retire. Although Favre expressed of his willingness to play another year, he felt that another season would only be successful if he led his team to another Super Bowl victory, and the chances for winning a Super Bowl are small. At his press conference, Favre openly wept about leaving the NFL. He said during the conference, "I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. And that's really what it comes down to." He had stated that his decision to retire had nothing to do with what the Packers did or didn't do.

On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers requesting for his unconditional release. Packers GM Ted Thompson declined the request while reaffirming the team's commitment to Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback. Complicating matters is Favre's contract clause that allows him to void any potential trade by not reporting to the camp of the team he might be traded to - if ever the Packers elect to go that route.

On July 14, 2008, Favre spoke about his potential comeback for the first time on the Fox News Channel. During the interview, Favre disputed the notion that he doesn't want to play for Green Bay. He made clear that he would not return to the Packers as a backup and reiterated his desire to be released rather than traded, which would allow him the freedom to play for a competitive team.

On July 29, 2008, Favre's NFL reinstatement was granted by Commissioner Goodell. After negotiations also involving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Favre was traded to the New York Jets on August 7, 2008 in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2009 draft with performance escalation.


New York Jets (2008)

Favre's started the 2008 season with the Jets strongly. By week 12, Brett Favre and the Jets had an 8-3 record, including a win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans.

However, on the last five games of the season, the Jets lost four, including one final game against the Miami Dolphins, who had acquired Chad Pennington after he was cut by the Jets to make room for Favre. It was later revealed that Favre was suffering from a torn biceps tendon in his right shoulder.


Second Retirement and Return (2009)

Following the disappointment of the 2008 season, Favre told Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, "it may be time to look in a different direction" regarding the quarterback position. On February 11, 2009, Favre announced his retirement.

In May, amidst speculation of whether he will once again come out of retirement, Favre asked for and was granted a release from the New York Jets. He also underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the a tear in his throwing arm.

On June 15, 2009, Favre stated he was once again considering coming out of retirement, and most likely will play for the Green Bay Packers' archrival - the Minnesota Vikings. However, on July 28, 2009, Favre informed his decision to stay retired.

On August 18, 2009, following several weeks of negotiations, Favre officially signed a 2-year, $25 million contract to play for the Minnesota Vikings.


Minnesota Vikings (2009 - present)

On October 5, 2009, Favre became the first player to beat every NFL team, by beating the Packers 30-23 on Monday Night Football.

Brett Favre #4
Quarterback