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Brett Favre: Claims of Taking $1.1M for Event No-Shows '100 Percent Not True'
May 9, 2020
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre denied Friday that he received $1.1 million for speaking engagements that he did not attend.
During an appearance on ESPN Wisconsin's Wilde & Tausch radio show (h/t Steve Gardner of USA Today), Favre said the payments were actually for public service announcements that ran in his home state of Mississippi: "I did ads that ran for three years, was paid for it, no different than any other time that I've done endorsements for other people, and I went about my way. For [the auditor] to say I took $1.1 million and didn't show up for speaking engagements is absolutely, 100 percent not true."
Luke Ramseth of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported this week that Mississippi State Auditor Shad White said the $1.1 million was paid to Favre's company, Favre Enterprises, for "appearances, promotions, autographs and speaking engagements that he didn't attend."
While Favre denied the claim, he said he is repaying the money. Favre already repaid $500,000 on Wednesday and will repay the remaining $600,000 installments.
White alleged that Favre was supposed to make speeches as part of at least three events that he wasn't present for. White called the amount Favre was paid "unreasonable" but praised him for repaying the money: "I want to applaud Mr. Favre for his good faith effort to make this right and make the taxpayers and TANF families whole. To date, we have seen no records indicating Mr. Favre knew that TANF was the program that served as the source of the money he was paid."
Favre called the allegations "ridiculous" and repeated his assertion that he did nothing wrong: "I, in no way, did anything wrong ... or [took] any money. I have never no-showed anyone in regards to speaking engagements, or commercials or anything of that nature."
The 50-year-old Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history with 11 Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro selections, three NFL MVP awards and one Super Bowl championship to his credit.
In 20 NFL seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings, Favre went 186-112 as a starter during the regular season. He also ranks fourth all-time in passing yardage (71,838) and fourth in passing touchdowns (508).
Since officially retiring from football following the 2010 season, Favre has focused on several business ventures and endorsements, and he even spent two seasons as a high school offensive coordinator in Mississippi at Oak Grove High School.