Brett Favre files retirement papers

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 17, 2011, 11:26 AM EST

Brett Favre has insisted for months that the 2010 season was his last, and he’s following up on that in 2011.

Alex Marvez of FOX Sports is reporting that Favre has officially filed his retirement papers, a step toward actually retiring from football and not just saying he’s retiring.

Does that mean it’s impossible that Favre could change his mind once again and come back? No. Nothing is impossible with Favre. Officially filing retirement papers doesn’t mean he’s actually officially retired — any more than it meant he was officially retired when a New York Daily News headline read, “Favre Files His Retirement Papers with NFL.”

But from all indications Favre really, truly means it when he says he’s now officially retired.

Permalink 87 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

87 responses to “Brett Favre files retirement papers”

  3. He’ll be in Arizona next year because thats where eveyone goes to retire. See you next year, Brent.

  5. Last season Childress should have said “are you in or are you out?’ and get your ass to training camp instead of kissing this guy’s butt. So Chilly lost his job over it. Good. As for this thread, who gives a damn!

  16. can you MEDIA please CLOSE the book on this washed up, eggomaniac, jerk stop giving him press. this should be the last we hear of him @ least for 5 yrs til you know,

  17. Brett was just waiting for Aaron Rodgers to take the training wheels off and become a legitimate qb. Now Brett can retire and feel comfort that the team that screwed him finally has a qb that can win a playoff game!

  18. if Brett does indeed retire and Green Bay makes it to the superbowl, do you think he would come out of retirement and sign with GB for one day in attempt to win another ring and retire with his old team, the packers? Is this possible?

  19. With sexual harassment law suites looming and his golden boy image tarnished…I see him crawling into a hole very, very quietly. (For now…)

  20. It’s about time Grandpa Favre filed those papers! I won’t truly believe he is retired until he is gone at least 2 years though! He changes his mind more than often than a woman picking out a dress for a 1st date!

  25. #1, I will officially believe it comes next Sept when the NFL plays games and BrINT is still home in Mississippi.

    #2, I believe he will be bored out of his skull sitting home doing nothing but bailing out his druggie whore sister, throwing to the local high school WR’s (who ironically are more talented than some of his Viking WR’s) and mowing the lawn so the possibility of a comeback will remain.

    #3, the CryQueens are still without a QB and desperate times call for desperate measures. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Leslie begs BrINT to come back and pad his career INT record for one more season. The last place Vikings are sitting around watching the three other divisional teams improve and the allure of a quick fix will be hard to deny. What wouldn’t be hard to deny is the futility of the strategy but when have the Vikings ever done the right thing?

  26. A better question is, is this the last Brett Favre story we will see on this site/ My guess is no.

  27. I know Favre has done this what, a dozen times. I know nothing is impossible. And I know that if anyone can fool us, it’s this guy.

    But he’s finished. This year was the message…the whisper in his ear – that he never received. The game has passed his body by.

    Perhaps now he can just move on and possibly lay low for awhile until his hall of fame vote is upon us. As overrated as he may be, and as annoying as he was, and as tarnished as his reputation is due to poor play and the Sterger scandal – he was an iron man QB who played with more heart than most players.

    I don’t mean to absolve him so he gets it easier. He’s an ego maniac. But for the football fan..hopefully his accomplishments can be admired for what they were and what they contributed to the game of football.

  28. I’ll miss the Gunslinger jumping around like a kid and tackling his teammates after a score. That folks, was pure love of the game that we will never see again. Skipping and putting on pretend belts is all we get to see now….yuck!

  29. Alewatcher,

    In case you don’t remember Old Yeller got shot at the end. Favre just took one shot too many. If there is any justice left the NFL won’t let him rescind his retirement papers when he decides to come back this summer. Now he’ll have the time to hammer out his divorce proceedings.

  30. It is true that one would have to wait and see what’s going on when the season starts but, you also have to admit he still is better than alot of these so called quarterbacks that are still out there playing.

  31. Brett is sitting at home watching 2 former teams do just fine without him. Aaron Rodgers just had the best playoff QB performance in Packers history, and he hold 3 of the highest playoff QB ratings in history. Favre’s over-rated irrelevance is being shoved right in his face and he knows that he can never come back and achieve anything close to what what Rodgers is doing. The world knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that Ted Thompson was right for kicking Favre to the curb. There is no possible ending to the Favre story that could be considered a good ending with regard to playing football again.

    So long Favre. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

  33. To previous poster: Even Mark Rypien won ONE SB and did not send out photo of his flabby , sad junk. Bart Starr…awesome. Aaron Rodgers…looking veeeery good. Brett Farve…kinda pathetic. Needs to go back to Mississippi, help with Katrina damage and rebuild his rep.

  39. This is a sad day for all football fans. I am a true Brett Favre fan, live in Wisconsin and even though he finished up in Minn… I never missed watching him play. I will miss watching him play. I hope he changes his mind and comes back out again and gives it one more shot.

  41. Good Riddance, but then again, he’ll probably play for Frisco! They’d like his junk texts out there!

  42. Fun to watch – minus this past season, good luck in retirement. This should have been done before this last season.

    Good QB with some crazy moments, and you won a Super Bowl.

    Steeler Fan

  45. The bitterness of GB fans is truly amazing. I wonder when they’re gonna turn on Rogers? The parallels are amazingly similar; have you ever seen a more nauseating love-fest??? Although Favre never brushed aside cancer patients like that.

  46. I hope he kept the retirement papers as a Word document on his computer. Retirement Version 5 is easier to file. Just change the date/team, print and fax it off! Just remember to hit “Save” so that he can re-file next year.

  47. The league needs to hurry up and make a rule that if a player retires more that once he cannot unretire.

  48. I’ll miss the Gunslinger jumping around like a kid and tackling his teammates after a score. That folks, was pure love of the game that we will never see again. Skipping and putting on pretend belts is all we get to see now….yuck!

    Give it up, all the former Packers will say , that yes in his early days, Favre”having fun “antics were genuine. As soon as he got media love, he knew where the cameras were and how to play up to them, the butt slaps, the firemans carry,all for show.. , over the top, and ALL for the cameras. I say good riddence. There were alot of good stories in the NFL this year, yet we heard nothing because of the medias obsession with one self absorbed individual. Maybe next year we can hear more about the Lions, Josh Freeman and the Bucs..and get used to it Perv, without Favre the Vikings are back to where they use to be,on the island of INSIGNIFICANT..

  50. bloodjunkie76 says: Jan 17, 2011 11:35 AM
    What’s the matter, PFT? No more lies to spread about Aaron Rodgers. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. What a joke of a person Brett Favre is.

    Funny, I’m sure you had no problems the many times PFT spread lies about Favre. Hypocrite much?

  51. Thanks Brett for your years in GB. Good luck in retirement & patching up things with the Mrs. You were fun to watch and will always be the Ironman of the NFL. See ya in the HOF.

  52. Say what you want, believe what you want….Favre was INCREDIBLE for the game of football, and the NFL, no matter what his personal issues were, or are. No other player in the history of the game has given themselves to the game the way that Brett did.

    With that said, his dismal last year will be remembered, by alot of players, and fans. His off-the-field issues are now front and center for all to see, and his drama queen attitude has been seen by the world. Some poeple will remember those issues instead of what will make him the most sure fire first ballot HOF’er ever.

    I hope we can all remember the way he played the game, and not the way he played everything else, including the blackberry.

  53. I’m def not a hater! Daughter-in-law loves her some Farve, but to paraphrase Bob Dylan: “I stayed [out of] Mississippi a day too long”. And I would prefer to hear his thoughts on one of the NFL shows to the “thoughts” of Tiki Barber!

  55. If Favre stays retired, the media will miss him the most. He was a money machine every single hour that he was on a pro roster. The media got 20 years of a wildly spinning cash meter while #4 played and quit and played and quit, etc.

    Regardless of that any of us say, Favre was an asset to football. Are any of us an asset to anything?

    Favre will undoubtedly be an instant first-ballot Hall of Famer unless he continues to be an idiot off the field. Cris Carter should by all statistical rights have been a first-ballot HOFer, too, but he talked himself out of contention by not shutting up. Those that nominate and confirm HOF enshrinees are apparently more intent on preventing tarnish to the game than obedient to pure stats.

    Here’s hoping Favre gets fat, shuts up, and stays home with his family for the next 5 years.

  57. At last, our long national nightmare is over.

    I’d bet the farm that Favre wishes now that he’d retired as a Packer while he was still ahead. Alas, pride goeth before a fall.

    Thanks for the great GB years, Brett. Best wishes for the future.

  60. Wisconsin77 says:
    Jan 17, 2011 12:04 PM
    One of the greatest of all time. Thanks for the memories Brett. Ignore the bitter haters.
    ====================================

    How can he ignore himself?

  61. The bitterness of GB fans is truly amazing. I wonder when they’re gonna turn on Rogers? The parallels are amazingly similar; have you ever seen a more nauseating love-fest??? Although Favre never brushed aside cancer patients like that.

    Please, for 16 years all you Viking fans could do is spew crap about Favre. He pissed on the fans there in GB, they have a right to be angry. So how will y all feel about Rodgers in 13 years when the Vikings start tampering with him to come play for them?

  62. I’m mildly surprised he didn’t wait until the day of the Superbowl to announce this. For maximum exposure and attention, you know.

    THAT is so true…like the last couple of years, all it was was him playing up to the media..”look at me…”! I am so cute, I ma havin so much fun..I am such a good ol boy, I am such a kid, I paly with child like exuburance……..PUKE! Don’t put it past him, if the Packers get in there. If it’s the Bears and whoever, he’ll wait, but I have no doubt in my mind the media ho will do whatever he can to steal the Packers thunder, with that being said..GO BEARS!

  63. He’s done. He couldn’t play another season even if he wanted to. Too many injuries… he’s done.

  64. To all people praising Rodgers now, you have to realize that he learned a lot from Brett’s great moments on the field (and his mistakes also). In hindsight it is easier to praise the Packers for picking Rodgers in the draft but having Brett in place (and letting Rodgers learn a little day by day) definitely made the learning process easier for Aaron Rodgers.

    Sure Brett was a selfish prick who loved the media’s attention, had an addiction problem and possibly cheated behind his wife’s back but just answer the question honestly – did you not enjoy watching Brett Favre play ?

  65. If he sends in his papers via fax, I’m glad I’m not the office drone who would get the fax.
    ‘Cause you just wouldn’t know if a pic of his Lil’ Favre is going to show up as well.

  66. Just wait.
    He’ll come back next year.
    And when the press asks him what happened to those retirement papers he sent in his reaction will be “They must have gotten intercepted.”

  67. Just wait.
    He’ll come back next year.
    And when the press asks him what happened to those retirement papers he sent in his reaction will be “They must have gotten intercepted.”

  68. Anybody who thinks the NFL would be any less popular had Brett Favre simply sat on the bench in Atlanta for whatever might have been the length his career in that town had he not been traded to Green Bay is on drugs. The NFL talking heads would have simply over hyped some other quarterback into the same spot. Hell, this year, the talking heads have managed to rehabilitate and return to stardom one of the bigger deviants and reprobates to ever play the sport, Michael Vick.

    Favre was certainly an NFL Ironman and his streak is impressive, although he could never duplicate it now given the new concussion rules. However, he is simply this generation’s version of Bobby Layne. A guy serious substance abuse problems, with an entertaining persona, although not real and overhyped, but a guy who has blown more playoff games as opposed to having stellar playoff performancess.

    Had Favre played anywhere else other than Green Bay over the last two thirds of his career, he would have been run out of town for all his boneheaded, game losing interceptions in playoff games.

  69. mataug………….. but just answer the question honestly – did you not enjoy watching Brett Favre play ?
    ————————————————–Hell yeah, I enjoyed watching him play, who didn’t? Love him or hate him, you had to enjoy watching him play!! No doubt, Hall of Famer, just wish he retired a few years ago, he might be respected a little bit more…it will take a few years to forget all the drama his last couple of years….let’s hope he really means it this time. You were great for the game, but it’s time to go.

  71. mataug says:
    Jan 17, 2011 2:59 PM
    To all people praising Rodgers now, you have to realize that he learned a lot from Brett’s great moments on the field (and his mistakes also). In hindsight it is easier to praise the Packers for picking Rodgers in the draft but having Brett in place (and letting Rodgers learn a little day by day) definitely made the learning process easier for Aaron Rodgers.
    ___________________________________

    Don’t know if Rodgers learned a whole lot behind Favre…other than what NOT to do. Favre never once gave any of his QB teammates the tiniest bit of help, until he was out of Green Bay, and that’s why he’s got very few friends in the League outside of any locker room. Not only that, Rodgers was only around GB long enough to see the ego-driven, A-hole Favre with bad habits and not much else. I’m hoping he paid attention to those moments intently.

    You clowns that rip on Packer faithful turning on Brett forget that he immediately contacted NFC rivals doing whatever he could do to screw the Packers the second he decided he was too good to come back in GB, to get to training camp, and fight for his spot. He also orchestrated the whole retirement in NY to get over to MN to screw the Pack. Sounds funny if you’re a Twink/Queen fan, but if the shoe’s on the other foot, I’m sure you’d be up in arms the same way. It amuses me how a few of you come on here accusing me and anyone else critical of the negative Favre comments, i.e: after “all he gave you”. I’ve invested heavily in 16 years of Lambeau season tickets, I own countless Favre items, including autographed helmets and jerseys that still adorn my media/TV room, and still bought into the guy when he was drilling Milwaukee waitresses, popping Vicodin, showing up drunk to practice….all that. I invest in the PACKERS, not a guy who thinks he’s bigger and better than the whole team. He got one whiff of the first coach (and GM) since Holmgren that held him accountable and told him where the Bear shits in the woods and couldn’t handle it. I truly hope it gives him a stomach-ache every time Rodgers carves out another win. He’ll get his day and his number on the wall at Lambeau, and rest assured, there will be some boos. He brought every single bit of that on himself. Amazing how his presser after the last game was a kiss up mentioning the love for all the years in Green Bay, and Green Bay this, and Green Bay that, only because he knows that he needs to get some fans back.

    Love Favre for what he did as a Packer. A little disturbed by everything he’s done since….his choices not mine. The best thing that could happen, would be to watch Green Bay take the Lombardi in Dallas…..and you could be assured that Favre would drop his retirement papers off at the NFL offices right on media day prior to the SB to keep his name in the news a little longer. That’s the kind of stuff Brett Favre has done for the last 7 years. You Viking fans are too dense to even see it.

    Funny that ESPN has ran the news of all this already this morning. The story took all of 8 seconds. 8 f-ing seconds. Even they are fed up with this guy’s antics. I’d bet he’s at home (or living by MeeMaw’s) watching this and flipping out that there’s not more coverage.

    Walk into the sunset Brett…while you still can. It was a great ride. Most of it anyway.

  72. Although Favre never brushed aside cancer patients like that.

    ——————

    Actually, it seems he’s been brushing Deanna (cancer survivor) aside for years in favor of young skanks.

  73. the packers will not make it to the superbowl this year-if they get through the bears-they have no chance to beat the jets or the black and gold-i dont care what happened in the past -jets where to get there a$$es handed to them by the pats how did that go-oh by the way jimmy do all fans of football a huge favre-go a way and shut the f-up-jimmy is the reason they make the short bus still-window licker-

  74. the packers will not make it to the superbowl this year-if they get through the bears-they have no chance to beat the jets or the black and gold-i dont care what happened in the past -jets where to get there a$$es handed to them by the pats how did that go-oh by the way jimmy do all fans of football a huge favre-go a way and shut the f-up-jimmy is the reason they make the short bus still-window licker-

  75. Thanks for the memories of all those bad decisions, interceptions, press conferences where you blamed everyone else and took no responsibility, text scandals, and other massive FAIL moments!

    And, here’s to next season when you decide to return and the media buys the story that you really were retiring this time!

    Looking forward watching you screw up another team and try to blame everything on injuries and coaches after skipping training camp.

  77. “Don’t know if Rodgers learned a whole lot behind Favre…other than what NOT to do. Favre never once gave any of his QB teammates the tiniest bit of help, until he was out of Green Bay”

    That is actually one of the biggest fallacies in Wisconsin. It is true, if you are a rookie QB you really don’t exist in Favre’s book. But after the first year they started working together more and Favre would teach him some things.

    As a matter of fact, not many veterans talked to Rodgers his rookie year. He came off as c0cky and arrogant. Just like Favre, most of the team did not warm up to him until his 2nd or 3rd year.

  78. brintfatre says: Jan 17, 2011 5:23 PM
    Thanks for the memories of all those bad decisions, interceptions, press conferences where you blamed everyone else and took no responsibility, text scandals, and other massive FAIL moments!

    lol, please provide one quote where Favre fails to take responsibility and blames his teammates.

    You won’t be able to and you know it, because he never did those things. Nice try rewriting history though.

  79. So long Brent, sorry to see you go, yea right. The media will never let you go. Hope you enjoyed Sat. nights game! Go Pack GO!!

  80. “mataug says:
    Jan 17, 2011 2:59 PM
    To all people praising Rodgers now, you have to realize that he learned a lot from Brett’s great moments on the field (and his mistakes also). In hindsight it is easier to praise the Packers for picking Rodgers in the draft but having Brett in place (and letting Rodgers learn a little day by day) definitely made the learning process easier for Aaron Rodgers.”

    ———————————————————————-

    Did you not read the stories about how poorly Favre treated his successor the day he was drafterd? Favre went out of his way to never mentor or train Rodgers. He never even said so much as hello to Rodgers until weeks later in training camps. Rodgers had to learn by osmosis rather than any sort of normal veteran/ young guy relationship.

    Talk about a bitter old grandpa.

  81. Jimmy,
    I’m surprised that you have not faulted Brad Childress for this.

    So who is your next Vikings whipping boy, Jimmy? Where is your all-knowing, superior eye pointing now? Which poor, shameful Viking player, executive, coach or our collective group of fans will you castigate? Perhaps the Dome will lay beneath your axe? Hmmmm? Any poor bastard that has happened to cross your royal path recently?

    I ask you and all Packers fans this: Those of you that have screamed about the Super Bowl as the only measure of success in pro football must have a reply….What if the Holy Packers LOSE this weekend? Or if they win, and lose in the Super Bowl? Will your season have been a failure? You ALL have said in strident, winded tones that the only true success on the football field is winning it ALL. What if, heaven forbid, Prince Rogers falls? He falls and the Holy Pack loses badly? Will you retreat to your basements and man-caves and pout in your brew? Or will you lay in a ball shrieking about the total failure that is the Green Bay Packers?

  82. When I was a kid, my mom read me the story of the boy who cried wolf.

    When I read to my kids, I will read them the story of Brett Farves retirement

  87. purplehayseuss says: What if the Holy Packers LOSE this weekend? Or if they win, and lose in the Super Bowl? Will your season have been a failure?

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    I’ll take a crack at this, Yes, it will be a failure for 2010. NFL teams are never standing still, either they are rising or falling. If a team gets in the playoffs two years in a row and wins more playoff games than the previous year, you can say they are rising. If a team made the playoffs in 2009 and finished in last place in 2010, then you can say they are falling.

    Now if a team gets to the Superbowl 4 different times and loses all 4, you might say there is a problem. Furthermore, if the team loses 4 Superbowls 30 some years ago and has 5 more chances to even qualify and loses all 5 times, you might go so far as to say there is a pattern there.

    But yes, winning the Superbowl should be the only goal of any NFL football team.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.