Brett Favre to Megyn Kelly: I've Probably Had Thousands of Concussions

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre estimated he may have suffered "thousands" of concussions during his 20-year NFL career.

Favre made the comment Thursday during an appearance on NBC's Megyn Kelly Today as part of a panel discussion about head injuries in sports.

"If a 'ding' is a concussion, I've had hundreds, probably thousands throughout my career," he said, per Mike Ryan of Sunday Night Football.

The 48-year-old Mississippi native also mentioned suffering from occasional memory loss, such as not being aware his car keys were in his hand or his glasses on his head, and said he's not sure whether that can be attributed to past concussions or typical aging.

In January, Favre appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and expressed hope his grandchildren choose a different sport, though he wouldn't directly tell them not to play football, (h/t Tom Schad of USA Today):

"I got three grandsons. I'm not going to encourage them to play football, I'm not going to discourage them, but I would much rather be a caddie for them in golf than watch them play football. And that's crazy. People say, 'I can't believe he would say that.' But you know, head injuries are going to continue. The quality of player is only going to go up, and that means concussions are not going to go down. So it's a scary issue."

Favre was joined on the panel by fellow former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, two-time World Series champion catcher David Ross and longtime United States women's soccer team goal-scoring sensation Abby Wambach, all of whom discussed their concerns about the long-term impact of head injuries.

A study released by the JAMA Network last July found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, in 110 of 111 (99 percent) deceased former NFL players tested.