Brett Favre - #4 - QB - Southern Mississippi - Profile

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS    

■ Entered 2008 season having played in 255 regular-season games (277 including playoffs) and started 253 consecutive games (275 including playoffs).

■ Career numbers: 5,377-of-8,758 passing, 61,655 yards, 442 touchdowns and 288 interceptions…All of those numbers are No. 1 in NFL history.

■ Owns a career passer rating of 85.7.

■ Is the NFL’s most accurate passer among those with at least 6,000 career attempts, his 61.4 career completion percentage placing him ahead of No. 2 Marino (59.4 percent).

■ Surpassed Dan Marino’s NFL record of 420 touchdown passes against Minnesota (9/30/07).

■ Record as a starter: 160-93 (.32). His 160 victories rank first all-time.

■ Earned the NFL’s ‘MVP’ honor a record three times, capturing the Associated Press award over the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons; he was runner-up in 2002 and 2007 as well…Honored in “co-status” with the Detroit Lions’ Barry Sanders in 1997, he became the first player in league history to win the award three times, let alone in three consecutive years.

■ Eight career seasons of 30-or-more touchdown passes is twice as many as any other quarterback in league history (Marino and Manning, with four each, stand second)

■ Recorded 300 completions and 3,000 passing yards in 16 seasons, both NFL records.

■ Registered 40 career game-winning comebacks (fourth-quarter deficit of tie).

■ Posted 55 career 300-yard passing games.

■ In 2007, completed 356-of-535 passes (career-best 66.5 percent) for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns with 15 interceptions for a 95.7 passer rating, surpassing 4,000 yards passing for the fifth time in his career (also in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004), one of only three quarterbacks to post as many as five 4,000-yard seasons (Manning 8, Marino 6).

■ Threw for three touchdowns for a record 63^rd time in his NFL career on Thanksgiving Day, 2007 at Detroit (11/22/07), when he also reeled off a career-best 20 consecutive completions.

■ Hooked up with Robert Brooks for an NFL-record tying 99-yard score in a 1995 game at Chicago…In 2003, was part of the second-longest rush in NFL history, handing off to Ahman Green on a play that resulted in a 98-yard touchdown, vs. Denver in the season finale.

POSTSEASON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

■ Started 22 postseason games in 11 postseason appearances, with record of 12-10.

■ Led Green Bay to seven division crowns, four NFC Championship Games, two Super Bowls and 35-21 victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI.

■ His postseason totals, 438-of-721 passing, for 5,311 yards and 39 touchdowns, rank second all-time behind Joe Montana in completions (460), attempts (734), yards (5,772) and touchdowns (39).

■  Has thrown a touchdown pass in NFL-record 18 consecutive postseason games.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS

■ Traded to JETS from GB for undisclosed condition draft selection, 8/6/08

■ Traded to GB from ATL for first-round (No. 17) selection in 1992 NFL Draft.

■ Selected by ATL in second round (No. 33 overall) of 1991 NFL Draft.

SEASON BY SEASON

2007 (GB) Started all 16 games for the 15th consecutive season, bringing his career total to 253 consecutive regular-season starts…Completed 356-of-535 passes (66.5 percent) for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions and a 95.7 passer rating…Named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year…Ninth career Pro Bowl selection…The 66.5 percent completion percentage, marked a new career high…A career-high seven (7) 300-yard passing games…Connected on eight (8) touchdown passes of 40 yards-or-longer, setting another career high…Extended his own league mark with three (3) more touchdown passes of 75-yards-or-more, giving him 14 in his career; also tied and broke the league record with his eighth and ninth touchdown passes of at least 80 yards…Threw for 300 yards-or-more in three consecutive games…Attempted at least 40 passes in four (4) games without throwing an interception…Threw his 421st career touchdown vs. MIN (9/30), breaking a tie with Dan Marino to take hold of the NFL record and ended the season with 442 touchdown passes…Surpassed Marino’s mark of 61,361 yards at STL (12/16).

2006 (GB) Started all 16 games for the 14th consecutive year…Led the league with a career-high 613 pass attempts for the second straight year…Completed 343-for-613 (56.0 percent) of his passes for 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions…Became the NFL’s all-time leader in pass completions, in addition to extending his league marks for consecutive and overall 3,000-yard seasons…At least 20 touchdown passes in 12 straight seasons, extending an NFL record…Matched No. 2 Marino (147) on the all-time quarterback wins list, one behind Elway (148).

2005 (GB) Started all 16 games…completed a career-high and league-leading 372 passes, and also led the NFL with 607 attempts…Led the NFC with 3,881 passing yards…threw a career and league-high 29 interceptions, leading to a career-low 70.9 passer rating.

2004 (GB) Started all 16 games…Oversaw the league’s third-ranked offense…Completed 346-of-540 passes – a 64.1 percent completion percentage, tied for his second best as a pro – for 4,088 yards and 30 touchdowns with 17 interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 92.4 – the fifth-highest mark of his pro career…Passed for more than 4,000 yards for a fourth time as a professional…Tied Johnny Unitas for the second most four-touchdown games (17) in NFL history…Played in his 200th NFL game…Surpassed Elway (4,123) for No. 2 on the all-time completions list at WAS (10/31)…Moved passed Unitas into second place in NFL history with his 18th career four-touchdown game…Led Green Bay to its third consecutive NFC North title…For the eighth time as a Pro, reached an NFL-record 30-touchdowns on the season.

2003 (GB) Started all 16 games…Led Green Bay to its ninth playoff appearance and fifth division title (second in a row)…Selected to his eighth Pro Bowl (1992-93, 1995-97, 2001-03)…Helped the Packers to the second-highest total in franchise history with 442 points…finished second in the NFC in passer rating (90.4)…Completed 308 of a career low 471 passing attempts – a career-best and franchise-record 65.4 completion percentage (also first in the NFC) – for 3,361 yards and an NFL-best 32 touchdowns, with 21 interceptions…Led the Packer offense, becoming the first unit in the NFL to rush for at least 2,500 yards, pass for at least 3,300 yards, complete at least 65 percent of passes, rush for at least 18 touchdowns and pass for at least 32 touchdowns…Earned ESPY’s 2004 ‘Best Moment’ for his performance in a Monday Night Football victory after the sudden death of his father.

2002 (GB) Started all 16 games for the 10th consecutive season…Led Green Bay to its fourth division title with and eighth playoff berth in his first 11 seasons with the Packers…Named NFL ‘Player of the Year’ by Sports Illustrated…Voted as a starter to the Pro Bowl for the seventh time in 11 seasons…For the second consecutive year was the leading vote-getter in fan balloting for the Pro Bowl…AP All-Pro selection, named All-NFC by Pro Football Weekly and chosen as NFC ‘Offensive Player of the Year’ by the Kansas City Committee of 101…Led the NFC in passing attempts (551) and completions (341); also tied for the conference lead in touchdown passes (27)…Finished third in the NFC in passing yards with 3,658, while ranking fifth in the conference in passer rating (85.6) and fourth in completion percentage (61.9)…Became the fourth player in NFL history to throw 300 career touchdown passes…Led the Packers to a Wild Card playoff loss.

2001 (GB) Started all 16 games in his 10th year as a Packer…Finished second in the NFC, completing 314-of-510 pass attempts for 3,921 yards and 32 touchdowns…His 15 interceptions were his lowest total in a season since he threw only 13 in 1996…Finished fourth in the NFL with a 94.1 passer rating…Named to his sixth career Pro Bowl…Was the NFC’s second-leading fourth-quarter passer with a rating of 104.4, helped by the fact that he threw only two interceptions during the final period…Completed 48 of 73 passes for 550 yards and four touchdowns, with seven interceptions, in two postseason games…Broke his own team playoff mark by completing 75.86 percent of his passes (22-of-29) in Wild Card game vs. SF (1/13), throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns with one interception – a passer rating of 112.6. Completed 16-of-21 second-half passes for 226 yards and one touchdown (126.3 rating) in helping Green Bay to overcome a 7-6 halftime deficit en route to 25-15 victory over the Niners.

2000 (GB) Started all 16 games…Finished the season ranked third in the NFC, completing 338 of an NFC-high 580 passes for 3,812 yards and 20 touchdowns with 16 interceptions for a passer rating of 78…Became the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 250 career touchdown passes… Passed for two touchdowns – an underhanded, playground-like five-yard toss to Green and the incredible, game-winning 43-yard loft to Antonio Freeman in overtime. The winning touchdown prompted ABC Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, who was obviously stunned by the play, to famously say, "He did WHAT???" in Green Bay’s 26-20 triumph vs.MIN (11/6)...Completed 17-of-36 passes for 235 yards, without an interception.

1999 (GB) Started all 16 games…Completed 341 of a league-high 595 pass attempts for 4,091 yards and 22 touchdowns with 23 interceptions for a 74.7 passer rating…Reached 30,000 yards passing in his 126th pro game vs. Carolina (12/12), becoming the (then) third-fastest in league history to ascent to that plateau…Had six 300-yard passing games, throwing for 3,000 yards for an eighth consecutive year…Third-career 4,000-yard passing season…Threw for the most fourth-quarter yards (1,347) in the league… On the night of his 30th birthday and before a national television audience, he orchestrated his third come-from-behind win in four games, driving his team 73 yards in just 40 seconds to defeat TB (10/10). He threw a looping, 21-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman with 1:05 remaining in Bucs contest to give Green Bay its final, 26-23 margin of victory. Posted 105.2 passer rating, completing 22-of-40 passes for a season-high 390 yards (then his third-highest total as a pro) and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

1998 (GB) Led the NFL in both passing yards (4,212), completions (347) and passer rating (62.9)…Finished third in the NFC with 31 touchdown passes and led the conference with a 113.0 passer rating on third down… Led the Packers to a come-from-behind, 37-30 victory with a signature performance at CAR (9/27). Despite uncorking an interception deep in Green Bay territory on his first attempt vs. the Panthers, he rebounded to equal his career high (and the team record) with five touchdown passes while throwing for a season-best 388 yards (then the fourth-highest total of his pro career), earning national Miller Lite ‘Player of the Week’ honors in the process…Led the Packers to a Wild Card playoff appearance, completing 20-of-35 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns with two interceptions in a loss at SF (1/3).

1997 (GB) Chosen as the starting quarterback for the NFC in the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive year but did not play due to injury…Named ‘Most Valuable Player’ by the AP for a third consecutive year, sharing the honor with Barry Sanders…Unanimous All-Pro by every major publication and named Quarterback of the Year for the third consecutive year by the National Quarterback Club…Finished third in the NFC with a 92.6 passer rating, based on 304 completions in 513 attempts for 3,867 yards and 35 touchdowns, with 16 interceptions…Threw 24 touchdown passes without an interception during the regular season…Led the NFC in completions (304) and passing yards (3,867), finishing second in the league…became the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 150 career touchdown passes, reaching the milestone in his 84th career game, a rate bettered only by Marino (62 games)…Second fastest to throw for 20,000 career yards when he accomplished the feat in 86 games… Had three touchdown passes for second straight game, this time at NE (10/27), when he earned

NFC ‘Offensive Player of the Week’ honors by completing 23-of-34 passes for 239 yards without an interception in leading the Packers to a 28-10 victory in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI…In the playoffs, Completed 56-of-97 passes for 668 yards and five touchdowns, with just three interceptions, leading the Packers back to the Super Bowl… Threw three touchdown passes vs. DEN in SB XXXII at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium (Jan. 25), tying his own postseason best, but it wasn’t enough in a 31-24 defeat. Completed 25-of-42 passes for 256 yards, with one INT.

1996 (GB) Named as the starting quarterback for the NFC in the Pro Bowl for the second straight year…In addition to being voted as the NFL’s ‘Most Valuable Player’ by AP for the second year in a row, he earned the same award from the Professional Football Writers of America and PFW…Earned ‘Player of the Year’ honors from TSN, Football Digest, Miller Lite, the Maxwell Club, the Touchdown Club of Columbus and the Victor Awards…Selected as Pro Football ‘Performer of the Year’ by ESPN’s ESPY Awards…Named league ‘Offensive Player of the Year’ by PFW, College & Pro Football Newsweekly and the Newspaper Enterprise Association…Selected NFC ‘Player of the Year’ by Football News…Also chosen NFC ‘Offensive Player of the Year’ by United Press International and the Kansas City Committee of 101…Tabbed as NFL ‘Quarterback of the Year’ by the National Quarterback Club and Footaction…Garnered first-team All-Pro honors from AP, College & Pro Football Newsweekly, Football Digest, PFW/PFWA, TSN, SI and USA Today…Earned ‘All-NFC’ honors from Football News and UPI….Set the NFC record for most touchdowns in a season (39) for the second straight year…Ranked as the third-highest, single-season total in NFL history…Led the NFL in touchdown passes for the second year in a row…Threw for an NFC-best 3,899 yards…tied Joe Namath for the honor of being the third-fastest player in league annals to reach 15,000 yards passing in his 66th game… Authored five four-touchdown games, the second-highest single-season total in NFL history, behind only the six of Marino in 1984 and Manning in 2004 (Marino also had five in 1986 and Brady had five in 2007). In leading the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, he completed 44-of-71 passes for 617 yards and five touchdowns – with only one interception – for a passer rating of 107.5…Under frigid conditions, he threw for 292 yards on 19-of-29 passing in the NFC Championship Game vs. CAR at Lambeau Field (1/12), with touchdown tosses to Dorsey Levens (29 yards) and Antonio Freeman (six yards)…Two weeks later (1/26), he started the Super Bowl with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Andre Rison on his first throw of the game, coming on a called audible, and later found Freeman with a then-Super Bowl record, 81-yard scoring strike where he perfectly lofted the ball over a Pats defender. In total, Favre threw for 246 yards, completing 14-of-27 attempts without an interception, to trigger a 35-21 triumph in Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

1995 (GB) Selected to start in the Pro Bowl for the first time after two appearances as a reserve…Earned NFL ‘Most Valuable Player’ awards from AP, PFWA, PFW and SI…Selected by ESPN’s ESPY Awards as ‘Performer of the Year’…Finished the season with an NFL-best 4,413 passing yards…Led the NFC (second in the NFL) with a 99.5 passer rating…Threw at least two touchdown passes in 12 consecutive games, equaling the NFL record held by Johnny Unitas (1959), Don Meredith (1965-66) and Dan Marino (1986-87)…Had the NFL’s highest completion percentage inside the red zone (66.2 percent)… At CHI (9/11), completed 21-of-37 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, including a team-record 99-yard scoring pass to Robert Brooks early in the second quarter – only the eighth time in NFL history that feat had been accomplished …At CLE (11/19), he passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, completing 23-of-28 passes for 210 yards for a career-best 82.1 completion percentage….Led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game, with eight touchdown passes and two interceptions on 66-of-102 passing for 805 yards in three games.

1994 (GB) Finished second in the NFL with a 90.7 passer rating…Ranked third in the NFC with 3,882 passing yards… Named second-team All-Pro by Football Digest…In 30-3 win vs. TB (9/25), earned Miller Lite ‘NFL Player of the Week’ honors as he completed 30-of-39 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions…At DAL (Nov. 24), threw four touchdown passes while completing 27-of-40 passes – without an interception – for 257 yards against the NFL’s then-No. 1 rated defense…Ended the season second in the NFL with 33 touchdown passes…Led the Packers to the Divisional playoffs.

1993 (GB) Started all 16 games for the first time in his career, one of only seven NFL quarterbacks to do so… Played in the Pro Bowl as a reserve when the Giants’ Phil Simms could not take part due to a shoulder problem…First among all NFC passers (second in the NFL) with 318 completions and his 19 touchdowns ranked third in the conference (fifth in the NFL)…His 3,303 passing yards were second in the NFC…Set a Green Bay single-game record with 36 completions at CHI (12/5), breaking the previous record of 35 set by Lynn Dickey in 1980, also threw for a career-high 402 yards vs. Bears – representing the first 300- and 400-yard passing games of his career…Led the Packers to the Divisional playoffs…In the NFC Wild Card playoff at DET (1/8), with the Packers trailing 24-21 in the final minute, he scrambled out of the pocket to his left, found an “unguarded” Sterling Sharpe in the open and unleashed an across-the-body throw from extreme left to extreme right; Sharpe ran under the ball in the end zone with 55 seconds left and the Packers shortly became 28-24 winners. Had thrown two earlier scoring passes to Sharpe (a 12-yarder in the second quarter and a 28-yarder in the third period) while completing 15-of-26 passes for 204 yards overall…Threw two more touchdown passes in a losing effort (27-17) in Divisional playoff at DAL (1/16) – a 2-yarder to Robert Brooks and a 29-yarder to Sharpe…Finished 28-of-45 for 331 yards (one-yard short of Packers’ single game playoff record) and two touchdowns.

1992 (GB) Traded to the Green Bay Packers from Atlanta for a first-round draft selection…Led the Packers to its second best record in 20 years (9-7)… Named as the third QB for the NFC Pro Bowl squad after finishing fifth among conference passers with an 85.3 overall rating, based on 302 completions in 471 attempts for 3,227 yards and 18 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions… At the time, was the youngest quarterback ever to play in AFC-NFC Pro Bowl (since 1971) at 23 years, 3 months, 28 days of age…The 302 completions tied for first in the NFC…Ranked second in the conference with 64.1 completion percentage...Had a string of 111 passes without an interception broken at HOU OILERS (12/13)…Did not play vs. MIN (9/6), but saw action in second-half relief role the next week at TB (9/13), completing eight of 14 passes for 73 yards…Engineered two touchdown drives in last eight minutes of the game to pull out 24-23 victory over CIN (9/20) after relieving injured Don Majkowski in opening quarter. Threw for a season-high 289 yards on 22-of-39 passing…Made first NFL start vs. PIT (9/27) and responded by completing 14 of 19 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns including a 76-yarder to Sterling Sharpe, with no interceptions.

1991 (ATL) Second-round draft selection by the Falcons (33rd overall)…He was the third quarterback selected, behind Dan McGwire and Todd Marinovich and one pick before Browning Nagle… Active for three games during the regular season, he played in two (10/27 vs. LA Rams, 11/10 at WAS), officially attempting four incomplete passes in Redskins contest…After the 2004 season, Elias Sports Bureau changed Favre’s official passing attempts for that WAS game; in researching Favre’s early career, viewing a tape of the CBS broadcast, Elias determined that Favre actually threw four passes in the game (the RFK Stadium press box had mistakenly credited him with five attempts in hand-written statistics).

BEFORE THE NFL

■ Led Southern Mississippi to 29 victories, including two bowl triumphs, during four varsity seasons (1987-90) and climaxed collegiate career by earning MVP award in East-West Shrine Game.

■ Set school records for passing yards (8,193), attempts (1,234), completions (656), completion percentage (53.0) and touchdowns (55), with only 35 interceptions.

■ Production included five 300-yard passing games and five three-TD performances, and 7,695 regular-season passing yards ranked him among the top 30 all-time NCAA passers.

■ His 1.57 percent interception rate in 1988 was lowest among 50 top-ranked passers in the nation, and 2.9 percent INT rate for four-year regular-season career (1,169 attempts, 34 INTs) ranks as one of the best in NCAA history.

■ Overcame injuries in serious summer car accident prior to senior year to lead Golden Eagles to 8-3 record and just eight points away from an undefeated season.

■ Suffered internal injuries in the July 14, 1990, accident requiring 30 inches of his intestines to be surgically removed 24 days later, then shocked coaches and teammates by returning to starting lineup a month later and leading Eagles to upset of Alabama.

■ MVP of All-American Bowl at conclusion of senior year.

■ Became starter at Southern Miss in third game of freshman season.

■ Earned three letters in football as QB, S, P and K and five letters in baseball, leading team in batting all five seasons, at Hancock North Central HS in hometown of Kiln, MS, where his late father, Irvin, was his coach.

■ Had his high school No. 10 jersey retired in April 1993 and was further honored May 8, 2004, when his school renamed its football field "Brett Favre Field" and dedicating life-sized statue of Favre at entrance to stadium.

■ Also had the No. 4 jersey he had worn at Southern Mississippi retired in September 1993.

■ Had his Southern Miss No. 4 jersey retired in September 1993, was inducted into Southern Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in April 1997, and was named to Southern Mississippi Football Team of the Century in 2001.

OFF THE FIELD

■ Given name Brett Lorenzo Favre.

■ Born in Gulfport, MS, and grew up in Kiln (pronounced KILL).

■ Majored in special education at Southern Miss.

■ Married long-time girlfriend Deanna Tynes on July 14, 1996, after 12-year courtship, and the couple have two daughters, Brittany, 19, and Breleigh, 9.

■ Father pitched for Southern Mississippi varsity, older brother, Scott, played QB for Mississippi State, younger brother, Jeff, was FS for Southern Miss, and sister, Brandi, is former "Miss Teen Mississippi."

■ Established Brett Favre Fourward Foundation in 1996, its mission to provide aid to disadvantaged or disabled children residing in Mississippi and Wisconsin. In conjunction with annual golf tournament, celebrity softball game and fundraising dinners, foundation has donated more than $3 million to charities in the two states.

■ In 2005, charity took on new cause, raising about $1 million in support of Hurricane Katrina relief in Mississippi's three Gulf Coast counties.

■ In 2005, Deanna founded Deanna Favre Hope Foundation to benefit uninsured and underinsured breast cancer patients; Deanna underwent successful treatment in 2004 for the disease.

■ Named as one of 100 “Good Guys” in sports by The Sporting News in July 2000 in recognition of his civic responsibility and character.

■ Formerly was a co-owner, along with Dale Jarrett, of a NASCAR Busch racing team.

■ Partner in Brett Favre’s Steakhouse in Green Bay, and its sister operation, Brett Favre’s Two Minute Grill, located in the Lambeau Field Atrium.

■ Sold over 100,000 copies of his authorized autobiography, entitled "Favre For The Record," published by Doubleday in summer of 1997.

■ With his family, in 1999 published "Favre Family Cookbook: Three Generations of Cajun and Creole Cooking from the Gulf Coast."

■ In 2004, authored, with his mother, Bonita, "Favre," an updated biography co-published by the NFL and Rugged Land.

■ Over two million of his candy bars, Brett Favre MVP Bar, sold through fundraising groups in its first year (1997-98), most ever sold by Morley Candy Company.

■ Made appearance near the end of 1998 movie "There's Something About Mary" as the mysterious boyfriend of Mary, co-star Cameron Diaz’s character.

■ Has been a guest on "The Tonight Show," "The Late Show" and "The Late, Late Show" and played himself in one episode of the HBO series "Arli$$".

■ Formerly an avid golfer, carrying handicap in “one to two” range — down from 15 handicap he carried as recently as 1998, before reducing his hours on the course after 2005 season to spend more time with his family.

■ Also enjoys hunting, TV nature programs, crossword puzzles, fishing and tending to his home and land on the 460 acres he owns in Hattiesburg, MS.

■ Announced his retirement on February 11, 2009