NFL legend Brett Favre has revealed he suffered ‘thousands’ of concussions throughout his illustrious career.
Favre was selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons before he was traded to the Green Bay Packers for a first round pick. With the iconic Wisconsin franchise, the quarterback won three MVP awards as well as Super Bowl XXXI.
He then joined the New York Jets in 2008 but struggled with injury and ultimately retired. However, Favre spectacularly came out of retirement and signed with the Packers’ NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, ahead of the 2009 season and he led them to the NFC Championship, defeating his former team twice to ensure he became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat each of the 32 franchises.
The 52-year-old works as a keen advocate for head injury awareness and has even pleading for a ban on youth tackle football in order to better protect young and developing brains. Favre was asked to estimate many serious head injuries he potentially suffered on a radio show this week, and he said if he had been asked the question a few years ago, the Hall of Famer would have said three.
However, after looking into research on concussions, Favre is now certain his number is far higher. In fact, the Packers legend believes it could even be in the four-figure range.
“Concussions happen all the time,” Favre told the The Bubba Army radio show. “You get tackled and your head hits the turf, you see flashes of light or ringing in your ears but you're able to play - that's a concussion.
“So, based on that, [I've suffered] thousands. Had to be, because every time my head hit the turf, there was ringing or stars going, flash bulbs ... but I was still able to play.”
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Favre was never formally diagnosed with that many concussions, but the NFL legend - whose Packers no.4 jersey has been retired - was certainly tackled and thrown to the turf plenty of time across his 20-year career. During his time with the Falcons, Packers, Jets and Vikings, Favre was sacked an unbelievable 525 times in the regular season alone.
One of Favre’s most concerning head injuries came in a 2004 contest against the New York Giants. The quarterback threw a touchdown pass to Javon Walker but he doesn’t remember the play after he sustained a head injury earlier in the match.
Favre recalled: “That's what's kind of frightening about the concussion thing - it's the ones that seem minor that do the damage 'cause you're able to play and keep going.”
