Legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre revealed he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while testifying at a congressional hearing on welfare misspending and reform Tuesday.
“Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others,” Favre, 54, said before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, which focused on the need for “guardrails” when it comes to dispersing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds.
“I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, this is also a cause dear to my heart.”
During his opening statement before Congress, @BrettFavre says he’s recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Full video here: https://t.co/bANW0t3SK6 pic.twitter.com/IFQzqC847M
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 24, 2024
Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. There is no cure for it.
Favre revealed his diagnosis while discussing Prevacus, the concussion drug company Favre invested in that’s no longer in use.
His testimony came after he was linked to the Mississippi welfare scandal in 2020, when he and others were accused of misusing welfare money on personal projects — including costs for a new volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The former quarterback played football at Southern Miss and his daughter was a volleyball player there.
Favre, who played 20 NFL seasons, said he suffered “thousands” of concussions in his pro career during an appearance on “The Bubba Army” radio show in August 2022.
He played in a record 299 consecutive games in his 302-game NFL career.
“Concussions happen all the time. 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,” Favre said at the time.
“So, based on that, [I’ve suffered] thousand — 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. That’s what’s kind of frightening about the concussion thing, because it’s the ones that seem minor that do the damage because you’re able to keep playing.”
Before that, Favre said his short-term memory and word retrieval skills had deteriorated during an interview on “TODAY” with Megyn Kelly in 2018. He was 48 at the time.
“I could go back and call the high school plays I ran, and to a certain degree, I can still do that. But I find that more short-term memory — someone I met six months ago — in other words, it has gotten a lot worse in regards to short-term, simple words that normally would come out easy in a conversion, I’ll stammer,” Favre said at the time.
“And look, I’m 48 years old. Having played 20 years, could it just be as we all like to say as we get a little bit older, I forgot my keys and they were in my hand? Or where are my glasses, and they’re on your head?
“I wonder if that’s what it is or do I have early stages of CTE. I don’t know.”
Favre, who spent most of his 20-year NFL career with the Packers, won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay in 1997, and earned three consecutive MVP awards from 1995-97.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Favre finished his career with totals of 6,300 completions, 10,169 attempts, 71,838 yards and 508 touchdowns.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
