NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre announces he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
American football legend Brett Favre has disclosed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 54-year-old former quarterback revealed his diagnosis while testifying before a congressional committee regarding a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi.
Favre, who is not facing criminal charges, has returned more than $1 million in speaking fees that were funded by a welfare program in the state. He also had investments in a biotech company associated with the case.
The former Green Bay Packers star shared with the committee that he had lost his investment in a company that he believed was developing a “groundbreaking concussion drug” to assist others.
“Although it’s too late for me as I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, this cause is very close to my heart,” said Favre.
Favre earned three consecutive MVP (most valuable player) awards with the Green Bay Packers from 1995 to 1997 and led the team to a Super Bowl victory in 1997.
Favre was part of the Green Bay Packers team that won the Super Bowl in 1997. Pic: AP
He played for Green Bay from 1992 to 2007, with stints at Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings.
Upon his retirement in 2011, Favre held numerous NFL career passing records. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
In a 2021 interview with Sky’s US partner NBC News, Favre mentioned suffering from memory loss due to numerous head hits during his career.
“There’s no way to know how many concussions I’ve had and what the consequences are, there’s no answer,” said Favre.
“I can’t recall someone I played with for six years in Green Bay…but the face looks familiar. These are the kinds of issues that make me ponder.”
He also expressed concerns about potentially having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head trauma, stating, “Concussions are a very serious matter, and we are just scratching the surface of their severity.”
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The NHS website describes Parkinson’s disease as a condition wherein parts of the brain deteriorate progressively over many years.
As the disease advances, symptoms like involuntary trembling can worsen, potentially leading some patients to experience greater disability. There is currently no known cure for Parkinson’s.
Several studies have connected CTE to Parkinson’s disease. In 2017, a study indicated that CTE was found in 177 out of 202 American football players’ brains.
