Brett Favre, who said Tuesday he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, once said he probably suffered “thousands” of concussions during his 20-year NFL career.
The 54-year-old NFL Hall of Famer — who played for 20 seasons — revealed in a stunning announcement during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 24, that he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In an interview that aired on April 11, 2018 with Megyn Kelly on Todaythe legendary retired quarterback reflected on his success in the league — and talked about the consequences of playing the game.
“When you have tinnitus, you see stars, that’s a concussion,” Favre said. “And if it’s a concussion, I’ve had hundreds, maybe thousands, over the course of my career, which is scary.”
Brett Favre, 54, reveals he has Parkinson’s disease in stunning moment at congressional hearing
Favre then added that he was “absolutely unaware” of the dangers of playing football until the last few years of his career.
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“It’s been 18, 19, 20 years since the NFL implemented the concussion testing protocol,” said Favre, who retired in 2010.
And while his basic tests gave “skewed” results at the age of 48, Favre said during Today interview that he had problems with short-term memory and that he had problems stumbling over his words during conversations.
“After playing for 20 years, could it be like we all like to say when we get a little older, ‘I forgot my keys and they were in my hand?’ Or where are my glasses and you have them on your head?’ I am wondering if this is it or if I have the early stages of CTE? I don’t know,” he said.
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AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Four years later in a separate interview, the legendary caller echoed similar sentiments.
“We know now that concussions happen all the time,” he said. “You get caught and your head hits the turf, you see flashes of lights or ringing in your ears, but you can play.”
He added of his own number of concussions: “So based on that, thousands. That’s what’s scary about concussions. The ones that seem minor do the damage, because you’re able to carry on today, there’s probably guys that they have them, they are [saying] ‘I’m not going out.’ ”
Favre’s news on Tuesday came as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about Prevacus, a company researching a concussion drug for which he has raised money in recent years. Favre allegedly convinced Mississippi state lawmakers to give him $2 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for the company, which the lawsuit against him alleges he used for himself instead.
“Unfortunately, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough drug for concussions that I thought would help others, and I’m sure you’ll understand why it’s too late for me as I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” he said. Favre told lawmakers, according to NBC News, ESPN and Fox News. “This is also a cause that is dear to my heart.”
According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, a study published in 2020 found that just one concussion increases the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by 57%.
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Source: HIS Education