The NFL & ESPN Knew Brett Favre Would Return Way Back in April

ESPN's Monday Night Football schedule was released back on Apr. 14, 2009.  The fifth game in four weeks to be broadcast by the network was to be the Green Bay Packers at the Minnesota Vikings.  Coincidence, right?

I can't believe that.  Call me crazy (and I'm sure a few of you will), but that game was put on the primetime schedule for a reason, and that reason signed a two-year deal with the Vikings yesterday.

Brett Favre's "return" to football in a Vikings' jersey was a certainty.  I believed that Favre may have influenced that likelihood in another B/R article.  I think that in order to leave the Jets and join the Vikings his way, Favre had to intentionally lose games to get his wish.

That wish is now a reality.

Yet that reality is now a financial boon for both the NFL and ESPN.  Without a doubt, the Oct. 5th Monday night matchup of the Packers and Vikings will be the highest rated NFL game during the regular season.

Other games scheduled for Monday Night Football early in the season have clear reasons to be in the prime-time lineup. 

The first game of the opening night double-header marks not just Tom Brady's return to the NFL (for which ESPN had long ago filmed promo spots), but Terrell Owens' first official game in a Bills' uniform.  Game two features NFL poster boy Peyton Manning vs. the "wildcat" Dolphins.  Game three, America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys.  Even game five, which again features the Dolphins, exists on the schedule if simply to be a marketing tool for the NFL's further courting of the Latino market as it kicks off a "Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration."

Amid these pre-planned games lies the Packers vs. Vikings matchup.  If neither the NFL nor ESPN thought Favre's return (in a Vikings' uniform, no less) was possible, then why put that game in prime-time?  Just in case?  He "retired."  And was released.  Favre was out of football.

Yes, a Packers/Vikings game is a rivalry game.  Yes, Peterson and Rodgers are rising stars.  Their matchup would still be a marketable game, but with the crown jewel of Favre facing the Packers for the first time, it's now a bonanza.

Favre's return was orchestrated.  It is a soap opera meant to draw viewers, increase interest and ratings, and sucker the fans into caring.

His signing with the Vikings is not about winning games or bettering the team, it is about marketing.  Check the ticket and jersey sales for the Vikings in the past 24 hours. 

Will the Vikings' organization care if the team still ends up 8-8 and out of the playoffs?  Their money just got made, compared to last season when there were a few games that almost didn't sell-outs in time to avoid a TV blackout in Minnesota.

The NFL knew Favre would be back, that he'd be the Vikings' QB, and that on Monday night, Oct. 5th, fans from coast to coast will be tuning in to ESPN to see what happens.