Brett Favre Announces Dire Health Update as Packers Legend Reveals Wife’s Heartbreaking Reaction to Parkinson’s Diagnosis

While Brett Favre has long discussed the challenges of living with Parkinson’s, he’s never peeled back the curtain on how he got the news until now. It started with him experiencing discomfort in his right arm for some time before he decided to visit a doctor. Five minutes. That’s all it took for his neurologist to diagnose him. Before he could even figure things out, he was home.

“What are you talking about?” said his wife as he shared the visit to the doctor’s. “Wait, what made you go get checked? Who was the, you know, like she’s trying to sort all this out? And I was, ‘Well, I had these symptoms, if you want to call it for a while,” Favre shared in a sit-down interview with The Sage Steele Show. At that moment, he had just one question for his wife. 

“You didn’t notice them?” he asked his wife, and she replied with a simple, “No.” It’s something both Favre and his wife felt was normal. But as he grew older, holding even a screwdriver steady became a challenge, and he knew something was wrong. Parkinson’s disorder, as expected, had taken away a big part of the legend’s life.

“Run. Before my prior to the hip replacement, I was running in half marathons,” said Favre. He had a chronic hip condition since his days in the NFL, which only got worse with him due to his underlying Parkinson’s disorder, and ultimately compelled him to get a hip replacement. 

Being in the NFL, Brett Favre never even thought that running would be his second act. “If you’d have told me when I retired that I would run period, especially if no one was chasing me, I would have said, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” he remarked. He started just to keep himself fit, but soon, he began enjoying it. He also roped in his wife as the couple participated in a short sprint course at the Brett Robinson Alabama Coastal Triathlon in 2014. It took him an hour and three additional minutes (including a two-minute penalty) to complete a 300-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride, and two-mile run. 

In 2017, he participated in the Big Beach Half Marathon, where he ran a 13.1-mile race. However, he soon had to give it up. But that doesn’t mean he gave on racing. “Other than running, I can pretty much do what I want,” he added. His new passion was cycling, and now you can’t spot him without his cycling cap. He even flaunted it during his vacation trip to Rome, Italy, even when posing before the Colosseum in April 2024. 

The same year as his first marathon in 2017, he also participated in the annual Trek 100 alongside 2,200 cyclists to help the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund generate funds. The event generated around $1 million. Cycling is something that has kept Favre’s competitive spirit alive, which refuses to die even after nearly 15 years of his retirement. The mountains still get a little tough for Favre to trek, but he feels he’s still not restrained. So, he “can’t complain.” But now, his condition is reportedly worsening.

Brett Favre reveals worsening Parkinson’s symptoms

Even though it was only revealed months later in September, the diagnosis came in January 2024; after the three-time Super Bowl champion had consulted with five different doctors. Favre believes the root cause traces back to the repeated head trauma of his 20-year NFL career. He estimates he suffered more than 1,000 concussions, including the hit from Bears lineman Cory Wootton that left him unconscious for nearly 15 seconds and effectively ended his career in 2010. “My last play. Actually, the only time in my career when I was completely out. Ten to 15 seconds,” Favre said. Now, during his interview with Sage Steele, the former Green Bay Packers QB also revealed an alarming situation.

 He has started to feel more stiffness throughout his right side of his body, causing tremors and making it especially difficult to swallow.  “I have a hard time swallowing. There’s times where I think I’m choking. It’s sort of scary because they can’t fix that,” Favre told the host. “I try not to think about it. I try to just focus on getting after the day. But, there are times during the day, maybe at night, when I can decompress… and I think I’m progressing a little bit.”

Although Favre tries his best to keep himself healthy and active, his condition can severely impact his mobility and mental abilities with time. What’s worse is there’s no cure for it. Earlier this year, in June, he revealed being scared of the ambiguity surrounding his disorder. But he’s 55 now, and with each passing year, he’s moving closer to that uncomfortable uncertainty. 

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