Brett Favre was the face of the Green Bay Packers’ franchise revival in the 1990s, and despite an unceremonious end to his time in Lambeau Field, the Packers intend to immortalize the quarterback at some point.
Packers CEO Mark Murphy said in his monthly column on the team’s website that they hope to retire Favre’s No. 4 before the quarterback is inducted into the Hall of Fame, which should come in 2016.
“We do want to bring Brett back into the fold, and plan on retiring his number,” Murphy wrote. “He deserves to have his number retired for what he accomplished, and meant to the Packers, during his time here.
“It is really just a question of timing in terms of retiring his jersey,” Murphy added. “The timing has to be right for both Brett and the organization. Brett will be a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2016, and we would like to retire his number prior to his induction.”
Favre’s public breakup with the team became messy after the quarterback waffled on retirement in 2008. After announcing his retirement, Favre changed his mind and tried to return to Green Bay. However, the organization was ready to hand over the starting job to Aaron Rodgers, effectively ending Favre’s time with the Pack. He was eventually traded to the New York Jets where he played the 2008 season. He then signed with Green Bay’s division rival, Minnesota, prior to the 2009 season and played two years with the Vikings before actually retiring for good.
“I know that many of our fans were upset that Brett played for the Vikings,” Murphy wrote. “As time goes by, though, I think wounds are healed and people focus more on the great things he did for the team during his 16 years here.”
Favre rewrote the NFL and Packers record books during his 16-year run in Green Bay throwing 442 touchdowns and amassing over 61,000 yards. He also led the Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI win over the Patriots.
