Favre calls it quits

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has decided to retire, ending

his storied and crowd-pleasing career after 17 seasons, three NFL

Most Valuable Player awards, a bevy of records and a reputation as

one of the most popular and entertaining players in league history.

Favre, 38, who always seemed a sort of throwback to

grittier and more reckless style of previous NFL generations, had

contemplated retirement seriously the past couple of off-seasons.

But he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2007. He led

the Packers to a surprising 13-3 record and the National Football

Conference championship game, and was named to his ninth Pro Bowl.

Toward the end of the season, Favre spoke of his feeling of

rejuvenation, which is why news of his retirement was widely met

with surprise on Tuesday morning.

The Packers have announced a news conference for later Tuesday.

He retires as the NFL career leader in passing yards (61,655),

touchdown passes (442), completions (5,377) and attempts (8,758).

His 160 victories as a starting quarterback are also a record.

Much of Favre's legacy rests on his durability. He ended his

career having played in his 253 consecutive regular-season games,

and 275 games including the postseason, records for quarterbacks.

His decision apparently stems from a reluctance spend another

year chasing an unlikely Super Bowl championship. Favre and the

Packers won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season, then lost in the

Super Bowl the next year. They have not returned to the

championship game since.

After spending much of last spring decided whether to retire or

return, he came back to lead a largely anonymous team to the

conference championship game. Favre, putting a holster on his

notorious gun-slinging ways, completed a career-high 66.5 percent

of his passes, and threw only 15 interceptions, the fewest he had

thrown since 2001. He threw for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns.

His last game was the NFC championship game against the Giants

at Lambeau Field. Favre was 19 of 35 for 236 yards, two touchdowns

and two interceptions, as the Giants won in overtime, 23-20, in

sub-zero temperatures. His last pass was intercepted by Giants

cornerback Corey Webster, setting up the winning field goal.

A native of Kiln, Miss., Favre attended Southern Mississippi and

was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1991

NFL draft -- the third quarterback chosen, behind Dan McGwire and

Todd Marinovich. The first of four passes he threw for the Falcons

as a rookie was intercepted, and the Falcons traded Favre to the

Packers in the off-season for a first-round draft pick in what has

become, in hindsight, one of the most lopsided deals in league

history.

The Falcons traded the pick, No. 17 overall, to the Cowboys, who

used it to draft cornerback Kevin Smith. In return, the Falcons

received the 19th and 104th picks, and used them for Southern

Mississippi running back Tony Smith (Favre's college teammate) and

Baylor cornerback Frankie Smith.

Favre started 13 games in 1992, and never missed another start.

He helped the Packers to 13 consecutive seasons of finishing .500

or above, a streak that ended in 2005, when Favre had his worst

season and the Packers finished 4-12.

He married his longtime girlfriend Deanna Tynes on July 14,

1996. The couple has two daughters, Brittany and Breleigh.