The 38-year-old now-former Packers quarterback told his head coach that he was mentally exhausted after a 16-year tenure as the conductor of the Packers' offensive attack that he had had enough of the mental grind that comes with preparing for game after game for 253 straight weeks.
The Packers, a little after 3 p.m., publicly confirmed what is easily the state's biggest story of the new year; Favre will not be back for an 18th season with the Green Bay Packers.
Favre and head coach Mike McCarthy spoke on Thursday. At the time, Favre said he thought it was time and the two discussed different scenarios. Favre called him again last night around 7 p.m. and said it was "time to hang up the cleats."
"It was really a very similar conversation to the one's we've had over the last four weeks," McCarthy said. "He's mentally tired and there [are] just a lot of little things that go into his preparation to prepare for the season."
The two spoke again, McCarthy said, between 9 and 9:30 p.m. while McCarthy was in Texas at a banquet for his daughter's high school basketball team. Favre and general manager Ted Thompson then spoke this morning.
The announcement was somewhat surprising, considering the performance Favre put in last season. Favre threw for 4,155 yards with 28 touchdowns and posted a 95.7 quarterback rating. The Packers finished 13-3 and advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1997 before falling to the New York Giants, 23-20, at Lambeau Field.
"It doesn't matter when it comes, whether it was two years ago or four years from now," Thompson said. "I think the finality of it, all of a sudden it hits you that Brett Favre's not going to be the quarterback anymore and it's surprising in that regard."
Both Thompson and McCarthy brushed off suggestions that Favre retired because he was disappointed that the Packers did not make an effort to sign free agent wide receiver Randy Moss to a contract. Last season, Favre hinted that he would retire because the team didn't pull the trigger on a possible trade and Moss, instead, helped lead New England to the Super Bowl.
There were also suggestions by some, including Favre's brother, Scott that the Packers didn't do enough to encourage the nine-time pro-bowler to return in 2008. It was another notion that Thompson scoffed at, saying that he and McCarthy followed the same approach they did a year ago.
It was McCarthy that talked to Favre on a frequent basis while Thompson, in his own words, checked in "from time to time." The GM said Favre's two biggest questions were whether or not the team wants him back and whether he could still play.
"We felt the communication lines were open," Thompson said. "We felt like gave him enough space to make the right decision for him."
Former team president Bob Harlan spoke glowingly about Favre, who he credits as part of a quartet that make the Packers a viable NFL franchise again. He recalled the time that newly-hired GM Ron Wolf, during a game at Atlanta, went down to the field to scout Favre, who was then a backup with the Falcons.
Wolf was just a few days onto the job when he informed Harlan that he intended to trade a first-round draft choice for Favre and wanted to know if his boss approved. Harlan responded that he had given Wolf total control and wasn't going to interfere in his first important decision.
Harlan's lasting memory of Favre will be his first touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI. After calling an audible on the Packers' second play from scrimmage, Favre hit Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown pass that kick-started the Packers to a 35-21 victory over New England which brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay for the first time in 29 years.
Favre celebrated the touchdown by running down the Superdome field with his helmet held high above his head.
"He looked like a kid running home to mom with his first good report card," Harlan said.
The story broke just after 8 a.m. Tuesday, when Jay Glazer published a report on FoxSports.com saying that Favre was done. Not too much later, ESPN's Chris Mortensen made public a voicemail that Favre left him.
"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre told Mortensen.
Later in the day, Favre's longtime friend, Al Jones - a sportswriter with the Biloxi Sun-Herald - added his confirmation to the developing story.
"Last night, late, late last night he made the decision," Jones said. "He made the decision and stuck with it. He's going to walk away and enjoy life down in south Mississippi. He's going to enjoy life because of what he accomplished in Green Bay."
Jones said that Favre's decision had nothing to do with a mistakenly posted article announcing the retirement last week on Packers.com or comments made by new Packers president Mark Murphy that it was his belief that Favre would return.
Former Packers tight end Mark Chmura, host of the "Miller Lite Football Show" on 540 ESPN, was surprised by the announcement - at least initially.
"I was shocked like everyone else," Chmura said from Las Vegas. "Over the last couple weeks, I was leaning towards he was going to retire just because it was taking so long,"
Chmura, whose relationship with Favre has become distant in recent years, said it was the grind of preparing for the NFL season that likely prompted Favre's decision to retire.
"The fun that they see Brett Favre have is about 4 percent of it," he said. "That's game time on Sunday. That's about a three-hour span. The rest, the off-season, especially as you get older, is a grind. Going through those meetings and then having to go through a week of practice and then playing in the cold."
Former Packers defensive lineman Gilbert Brown called Favre a "great competitor."
"He was a great guy," said Brown, now coach of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers. "A great human being. Everybody loves him. Every time for 17 years, everybody knew Number 4 was going to line up behind center and throw that ball."
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement Tuesday afternoon:
"Brett Favre will always be remembered as one of the greatest players and fiercest competitors in NFL history. His long list of accomplishments both on and off the field is remarkable. Brett's talent, enthusiasm and love of the game helped him become the only player to earn three MVP awards and he was a vital part of bringing a Super Bowl championship back to Green Bay. It has been a joy and privilege for all of us to watch him play. We wish Brett, Deanna and their family all the best and hope he will stay connected to the game that he honored with his brilliant play for so many years."
The Packers now look to the future. On paper, it would be logical to think that Aaron Rodgers, the team's first-round draft choice in 2005, would be Favre's heir apparent.
Rodgers appeared in just five games over his first two seasons, completing 15 of 31 passes for 111 yards with an interception and no touchdowns.
In 2008, he made two appearances and saw his first significant professional playing time against Dallas in Week 13 after Favre left the game with an injury. He connected on 18 of 26 attempts for 201 yards and also recorded his first touchdown. Rodgers also ran five times for 30 yards in the Packers' 38-27 loss.
"We're not going to do it today," Thompson said. "It's going to happen one day at a time. It's the beauty of the future. We've got an excellent football team. We've got a lot of candidates. It's an exciting time for the Green Bay Packers."
