Brett Favre Retires:How Does He Stack Up Against Other Hall of Fame QBs?

I grew up a Chicago Bears fan, so it's natural that I had a distinguished hate for Brett Favre. I watched him tear apart my beloved team year after year.

Sometimes it got to the point where I told myself I'd never forgive him.

Although I enjoyed when the Bears beat Favre, I also enjoyed his play.

The unique style of never give up play made Favre what he is today. The gunslinger never backed down from a challenge.

Even when the odds were stacked against him.

I can come to accept that Favre is a great player. A Hall of Fame player, and one of the best of all-time.

There is no doubt Favre will be in the Hall of Fame sooner than later. But there will always be that debate on where he stands on the list of best quarterbacks.

I went through who I consider to be the best of all time, and researched stats to see where Favre compares.

I compared his career to the elite class of Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway and Johnny Unitas. All great quarterbacks who are in the Hall of Fame.

Now let's see how Favre compares to these legends.

If he does in fact retire this season, Favre will finish his career with two Super Bowl appearances and just one Super Bowl ring.

Comparing that to the quarterbacks I listed, Favre only has more than Marino who has zero Super Bowl rings. Both Favre and Unitas have one a piece but Unitas has two NFL World Championships, which pre-date the NFL-AFL merger and are the equivalent to Super Bowls.

You can say a Super Bowl is a team effort, but what makes a great quarterback is the ability to lead a team and win the Super Bowl. That's what the game is all about.

Favre didn't have some of the offensive talent on his teams like the rest of them did.

Aikman had Michael Irvin and Emmit Smith, Young and Montana had Jerry Rice. Elway had Terrell Davis.

That's a major point to add, Favre did largley himself.

Favre doesn't have the rings, but that's not what its all about. Stats mean everything to people.

Favre holds several stat records in the NFL, very impressive in my book.

He is the all-time leader in touchdown passes, passing yards, completions and attempts, consecutive starts, and victories.

He also holds the record for most career interceptions, but that should not overshadow the greatness of his career.

Holding all of these records prove's that Favre is one of the greatest ever. Put him in the conversation, and he is above the rest of the guys because of these records.

Did I mention he is also a three time NFL MVP?

Favre and Unitas are the only three time MVP's out of the class. MVP's can determine a lot, because of its meaning.

Favre has had one heck of a career, and compared to the others in this elite class, he's leaped over all of them except one: Unitas.

So if it's all said and done for Favre, he will go down as the one of, if not the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL.