WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he told a congressional committee Tuesday.
Favre made the disclosure as part of his testimony about 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, 54, told the committee that he lost his investment in the company that he thought “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 head injuries. He said on a radio show in 2022 that he estimates he may have experienced “thousands” of concussions in his two decades in the NFL.
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.