HUDSON — Last summer, the Green Bay Packers offered Brett Favre a $20 million, 10-year marketing deal as a last-ditch effort to keep the quarterback from ending his retirement. It didn’t work and Favre wound up being dealt to the Jets after he failed to get his release so he could sign with the Vikings.
This time, as reports swirl that Favre is going to sign with Green Bay’s archrival if his throwing arm is healthy, it’s pretty clear the Packers aren’t going to go to great lengths to stop it from happening. Even if that means facing Favre twice this season.
Mark Murphy, the Packers’ president who was in town on Tuesday as part of the team’s Tailgate Tour, declined to confirm if the marketing deal was still on the table but made it pretty clear there hasn’t been dialogue between the sides.
“At this point, he’s just retired from the Jets and at this point we’re really just going to kind of wait and see how things play out,” Murphy said. “But in the long run we do want to have a relationship with Brett. We’re going to retire his number. What that relationship looks like, who knows? But kind of like we have with Bart Starr and some of our other great players. We want to have them back and I think he’ll be remembered as a Packer. But, obviously, I think we all need some time to pass before we make those decisions.”
The Packers spent much of last offseason dealing with the Favre saga after he decided he had made a mistake by announcing his retirement in March 2008. By the time, Favre made a definite decision he wanted to return, Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy already had committed to Aaron Rodgers as their starter.
This caused for what turned into a bitter divorce after Favre spent 16 seasons with Green Bay. When Favre retired again in February following one season with the Jets, he admitted to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King that “part of me coming back (in 2008), I have to admit now, was sticking it to Ted.”
After having been in the middle of the Favre soap opera last season—the Packers filed tampering charges at one point against the Vikings but the NFL did not penalize Minnesota—Murphy said he is not following the situation “actively” but admitted it has been difficult to avoid.
“It’s on TV and certainly our local media follows it,” he said. “But we’re not in the eye of the storm, so to speak, as we were last year.”
As he has been through this entire situation, Favre remained mum on the subject of a potential return to the Vikings on Tuesday. Following a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday that Favre was throwing the ball with receivers from Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss.—something he did last year before playing for the Jets—ESPN reported Monday that Oak Grove coach Nevil Barr said Favre threw for 15 to 20 minutes after practice.
Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, told ESPN that Favre said that after throwing about 10 times, his arm hurt. Cook also said again that “right now, he is retired. Nothing has changed.” Favre has a slightly torn biceps tendon in his right arm.
Murphy said the potential of the Vikings signing Favre out of his second attempt at retirement does not speed up the Packers’ timetable for taking care of things.
“I don’t think so,” Murphy said. “We said we wanted to kind of wait and see how things play out. And I guess the other thing I’d say is if he wants to continue his career he should. He’s a rarity. Not many players at the age of 40 can still make a decision whether they want to continue playing. So we wish him the best but our focus really is on our team and getting ready for the season.”