Jets most hated: the top 20 villains in Gang Green history – Part 1 (20-11)
By Ed Stein
19. Brett Favre
If Brett Favre and the New York Jets had it to do over again, both sides would have stayed far away from each other in 2008. It would have been better for both parties had he retired at age 39 and took Green Bay’s $20M marketing contract offer to stay away from the field. But that isn’t what happened.
Instead, Gang Green sent a conditional fourth-round pick to Green Bay for Favre. The start of his New York Jets “career” went very well as he led the team to an 8-3 record. That included a six-touchdown performance in a win over Atlanta in Week 4. Then the walls caved in.
The Jets closed out 2008 with a 1-5 record. Farve had a 55.2 passer rating in those six contests. He threw only two touchdowns against eight interceptions (including four versus Seattle in Game 15) during that time. The latter brought him up to 22 pickoffs for the year, which led the league. That horrid six-week stretch was the basis of his first Jets scandal.
Farve complained to the team about a sore throwing arm following their Game 11 win over Tennessee. Both he and the New York Jets declined to mention that on any injury reports. After the final game, Favre had an MRI which disclosed a torn biceps.
Whether that was the impetus or not, he went to Mike Tannenbaum after the Super Bowl and told the Jets GM he was seriously contemplating retirement. Further, the team should probably go in another direction at quarterback.
Gang Green decided to part ways Favre in May. Miraculously he un-retired again to sign with Minnesota in August. After joining the Vikings, he told anyone who would listen how bad his arm was at the end of 2008. Again an indication of an injury was not made public, something the NFL heavily frowns upon. It led to an investigation in which the team was found guilty and fined $125K.
After his final retirement in 2010, Favre once again brought the New York Jets into a scandal. During his time with Gang Green, the once-revered QB sexted and sent inappropriate pictures to the team’s sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. Beware of false prophets!