Brett Favre Considers $20M ‘Marketing’ Deal

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The latest in a bizarre series of Brett Favre “unretirement” events finds the Green Bay Packers offering Brett $20 million (or more by some reports) over 10 years to stay retired. My initial reaction was that I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At the same time, I felt Brett would be out of his mind to not accept a deal like this. I mean, who would pass up $20 million to essentially do nothing? But in looking at the history of this whole fiasco, the football purist in me thinks this is an absolutely horrific way to handle this situation. The Packers want to buy their way out of this mess and Brett’s actually considering taking them up on their offer. What an ugly scenario. It’s like Brett Favre is selling his soul to the Green Bay Packers, turning aside his love for the game and his desire to continue playing it in exchange for the almighty dollar. It kind of makes you sick to your stomach, doesn’t it? The reason so many football fans (myself included) have loved Brett Favre over the years is because of his pure love for the game and the manner in which he played it. He would never do anything like this, would he? It’s almost unconscionable. On the other hand, wouldn’t he be crazy to pass on this kind of offer?

I was listening to an “analyst” on ESPN Radio’s SportsNation this afternoon bashing Brett as though he had already taken the $20 million, claiming that Brett was selfish and only looking out for his own interests. Who does this guy look out for in his career? When he agreed to accept payment (if he gets paid) for his work at ESPN, did he take into consideration all his co-workers, what they’re getting paid and the current state of broadcasting? Or did he look out for his own interests? Exactly. I wouldn’t blame Brett for taking the money to stay retired. I’m just confused by a multi-millionaire’s “itch” to play again and how that could be squashed by $20 million more.

In looking out for my own selfish interests, I want to see Brett play again. I don’t want to see the Packers pay him off to stay out of football. If Brett thinks he can still play (and obviously he does), I want to see him play — whether that’s with the Packers, Minnesota Vikings or any other team.