The media cycle being what it is, the fact that the St. Louis Rams reached out to Brett Favre earlier this week is already old news – because he flat-out said he is staying retired.
But somewhat lost in the chatter is perhaps the real reason he’s not coming back: He fears he’s experiencing some pretty heavy effects of concussions.
“I don’t remember my daughter playing soccer, playing youth soccer, one summer,” Favre told WSPZ in Washington, known as Sports Talk 570, when he made it clear he is staying retired.
The station does not have the interview archived, but the Associated Press picks up the rest of the rather sobering quote:
“I got a pretty good memory, and I have a tendency like we all do to say, ‘Where are my glasses?’ and they’re on your head. This was pretty shocking to me that I couldn’t remember my daughter playing youth soccer, just one summer, I think. I remember her playing basketball, I remember her playing volleyball, so I kind of think maybe she only played a game or two. I think she played eight. So that’s a little bit scary to me. For the first time in 44 years, that put a little fear in me. … I think after 20 years, God only knows the toll.”
It’s somewhat shocking and also totally inevitable that there would be such a revelation. The spotlight on football and concussions has been growing brighter in recent years, as more players come out talking about their struggles, and a recent Frontline episode highlighted the dangers even further.
Favre was a notorious gamer, playing hurt so often that he set the NFL’s record for consecutive starts at 321 from 1992 to 2010.
So, how could we have not seen it coming? This was someone who admitted he had a pretty good pain pill addiction going on there for a good part of his career, and was also referred to so often as a “gunslinger” because he often put himself at risks in all kinds of situations.
And he took many ugly shots in his final years with the Vikings. So much so that in this story from 2009, he admits to talking to Vikings legend (and the man whose consecutive-game record Favre shattered) Jim Marshall about the possible effects.
Pro Football Talk asked him the question: So how many times did he play in a game with a concussion that today would have resulted in Favre sitting out?
“A lot,” Favre said.
But he played through. Here’s a shot of him taking a good whiff of what is likely is a smelling salt:
Still, it’s a pretty sobering thought after all to think that the man who is arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game might be on a path to forgetting much about his career.
