NFL legend Brett Favre on Tuesday revealed he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease following a 20-season career in which he estimates he might have sustained “thousands” of concussions.
The 54-year-old former Green Bay Packers quarterback disclosed the diagnosis during testimony before a US Congressional panel in Washington probing alleged misuse of taxpayer money.
“Sadly I lost my investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others,” Favre told lawmakers. “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.”
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Favre was referring to Prevacus, a company making a concussion drug that received US$2 million in taxpayer money from the US Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund.
The company’s founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud earlier this year after admitting he had used welfare money given to Prevacus to pay off gambling debts.
Favre, who played 321 straight games during his career — an NFL record for a quarterback — retired from the sport in 2010.
In a 2018 interview, he said that although he was only formally diagnosed with a handful of concussions during his career, he believes the actual number was far greater.
“That I know of, three, four, maybe,” Favre said in the interview when asked how many times he had been concussed. “There’s a term that is often used in football, and maybe in other sports, that I got ‘dinged.’ When you have ringing of the ears, seeing stars, that’s a concussion. If that is a concussion, I’ve had hundreds, probably thousands throughout my career, which is frightening.”
Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease that erodes motor functions. Typical symptoms include shaking, rigidity and difficulty walking. In advanced stages, depression, anxiety and dementia are also common.
Worldwide, about 10 million people are afflicted with the disease, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation said.
Favre said in 2018 he was uncertain whether he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the condition at the center of the NFL’s US$1.2 billion 2013 concussion settlement, which cannot be diagnosed in living people.
However, he revealed he has experienced symptoms, such as short-term memory loss and occasional speech difficulties.
“Simple words that normally would come out easy in a conversation, I’ll stammer,” Favre said at the time. “Yeah, I forgot my keys and they were in my hand. Where are my glasses, and they’re on your head. You know, I wonder if that’s what it is, or do I have early stages of CTE? I don’t know.”
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