WISCONSIN — Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre said he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Favre shared the news during his testimony at a congressional hearing on a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi.
Favre, who does not face criminal charges, has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by a welfare program in the state and was also an investor in a biotech company with ties to the case. The biotech firm has said it was developing concussion treatments.
The former football star told the committee that he lost his investment in the company “that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others.”
“As I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me — I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s — this is also a cause dear to my heart,” Favre said.
What causes Parkinson’s disease is unknown, and it is unclear if Favre’s disease is connected to his football career or injuries. He said in 2022 that he estimates he experienced “thousands” of concussions in his two decades in the NFL.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time, affecting motor skills. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, over one million people in the U.S. live with the disease and about 90,000 people are diagnosed each year.
Favre appeared at the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee hearing to advocate reform of the federal welfare system to better prevent fraud.
“The challenges my family and I have faced over the last three years—because certain government officials in Mississippi failed to protect federal TANF funds from fraud and abuse, and are unjustifiably trying to blame me, those challenges have hurt my good name and are worse than anything I faced in football,” Favre said.
House Republicans have said a Mississippi welfare misspending scandal involving Favre and others points to the need for an overhaul in the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
Favre has said he didn’t know the payments he received came from welfare funds and has noted his charity had provided millions of dollars to poor kids in his home state of Mississippi and in Wisconsin, where he played most of his career with the Green Bay Packers.
Favre was known for his durability during his Hall of Fame career. He had an NFL-record streak of 297 consecutive starts, a figure that goes up to 321 if playoff games are included.
He won three straight MVP awards with the Green Bay Packers from 1995-97. Favre led the 1996 Packers to their first Super Bowl title in nearly three decades and brought them back to the Super Bowl the following year.
Favre was with Green Bay from 1992-2007 and also played for the Atlanta Falcons (1991), New York Jets (2008) and Minnesota Vikings (2009-10). At the time of his retirement in 2011, Favre owned multiple NFL career passing records. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.