Brett Favre was one of the toughest NFL quarterbacks to have ever played the game. The Green Bay Packers star played through the pain on hundreds of occasions and was as consistent as players come.
However, as Favre revealed in a recent radio show appearance, that consistency came at a price. The legendary quarterback was a guest on “The Bubba Army” show and was asked if he knew the number of serious head injuries he had suffered in his NFL career. Favre’s response stunned everyone.
Used to Think He Was Concussed Only Three Times
The former Minnesota Vikings star estimated that he had sustained thousands of concussions over his 20-year-long career. What worried him was that concussions in the NFL happen all the time and that many players don’t even know they have them.
Favre noted that there is still a lot that we don’t know about concussions and that if people asked him ten years ago, he would have said he was concussed only on three occasions.
He would have said three because he used to think you had to black out and not know where you are when you get a concussion, as well as feel dizzy and suffer a momentary memory loss – similar to what boxers are experiencing when they get knocked out.
However, Favre said he now knew that concussions are much more frequent and that things such as flashes of light or ringing in your ears also count as concussions.
Based on that, Favre said, he suffered thousands of concussions in his career. He admitted to seeing “stars going,” hearing ringing, and saw “flash bulbs” every time his head hit the turf. So, even though he could continue playing, he concluded, he must have been concussed.
Minor Concussions Do the Damage
What worried Favre was that according to experts it was the minor concussions that do most of the damagebecause players don’t leave the field and continue playing with them. He said that there must be players even today who have concussions but don’t go out.
From his first NFL game in 1991 to his last one in 2010, Brett Favre gave it all on the football field. There was a period in which Favre didn’t miss a single game. In fact, he holds the record for the highest number of consecutive NFL games played – 297 (321 if you include the playoffs).
When he retired, the former Packers, Falcons, Jets, and Vikings star topped both NFL passing yards and passing touchdowns charts.
However, that longevity came at a massive price for Favre’s body. The quarterback didn’t like to get rid of the ball and was sacked an amazing 525 times in the twenty years he played in the NFL.
Favre suffered a concussion in his last game in the NFL too. The Minnesota Vikings were playing the Chicago Bears when a sack left Favre motionless for several agonizing seconds. When he got round, he asked, “What are the Bears doing here?”
