While some Green Bay Packers fans still harbor bitterness toward Brett Favre over the former Packers quarterback's exit from Green Bay in 2008, others are reportedly making hotel reservations for Canton, Ohio, in 2016 in anticipation of Favre's first-ballot induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That latter revelation,
as reported Sunday in the Canton Repository, came hours before the Packers scheduled a news conference to reportedly announce plans to honor the 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback in 2015.
The NFL team has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. news conference Monday featuring Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy, former Packers chairman Bob Harlan and Perry Kidder, the president of Packers Hall of Fame Inc. Favre, who retired from football after the 2010 season, will speak at the event via telephone, according to a news release from the team Sunday night.
ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported that the team will announce plans to induct Favre into the Packers Hall of Fame during the 2015 season and retire his jersey No. 4, according to sources. The report did not specify when Favre's number would be added to the team's ring of honor.
Previously, Murphy had said that he expected the team to honor Favre before the end of the 2015 season, knowing he'd be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016 and sure to be a first-ballot inductee. Last month, multiple news outlets reported that Murphy felt it was still too soon for that to happen during the 2014 season, fearing many fans would boo Favre at such an event designed to honor the three-time NFL MVP who led Green Bay to two Super Bowls.
Favre's number would be only the sixth retired by the iconic NFL franchise. The others are: Tony Canadeo (No. 3), Don Hutson (No. 14), Bart Starr (No. 15), Ray Nitschke (No. 66) and Reggie White (No. 92).
Favre played for the Packers from 1992 through 2008 before initially retiring from the game on March 4, 2008. At the time,
the Packers planed to retire his No. 4 at the 2008 season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
After trying to convince Packers GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy to bring him back that fall, Favre accepted a trade to New York, where he played one season for the Jets. The next season, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and played two seasons for the Packers' NFC North rival, which divided the Packers fan base that worshiped him during his playing days in Green Bay and ultimately delayed the team's plans to honor him until now.
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