Brett Favre once said he may have suffered “thousands” of concussions in the NFL

Brett Favre, who announced Tuesday that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, once said he had probably suffered “thousands” of concussions over the course of his 20-year NFL career.

The 54-year-old NFL Hall of Famer, who played for 20 seasons, revealed in a surprise announcement during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, September 24, that he had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly that aired on April 11, 2018, TodayThe legendary retired quarterback looked back on his success in the league – and spoke about the consequences of the game.

“If you have ringing in your ears and you see stars, that's a concussion,” Favre said. “And if that's a concussion, I've had hundreds, maybe thousands of them over the course of my career, and that's scary.”

Favre added at the time that until the last years of his career he was “absolutely unaware” of the dangers of playing football.

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“In '18, '19 and '20, the NFL implemented the concussion protocol,” said Favre, who retired in 2010.

And while his baseline tests at age 48 produced “skewed” results, Favre said during the Today In the interview, he stated that he had problems with his short-term memory and often stumbled over his words during a conversation.

“After 20 years of gaming, could it just be what we all like to say as we get older: 'I forgot my keys and they were in my hand? Or where are my glasses and they're sitting on your head?' I wonder if that's it or if I'm in the early stages of CTE? I don't know,” he said.

Four years later, the legendary signalman expressed similar views in another interview.

“We know now that concussions happen all the time,” he said. “You get tackled and your head hits the turf, you see flashes of light or ringing in your ears, but you can play.”

He added that he himself has suffered several concussions: “So, based on that, thousands. That's the scary thing about concussions. It's the seemingly mild ones that do the damage, because you can keep going, and even today there are probably people who have them, they're [saying] 'I'm not going out.'”

Favre's news came Tuesday as he testified before the House Budget Committee about Prevacus, a company researching a concussion cure that he has raised money for in recent years. Favre reportedly convinced Mississippi state lawmakers to give him $2 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program funds for the company that he instead used for himself, according to a lawsuit.

“Unfortunately, I also lost an investment in a company that I thought was developing a breakthrough concussion drug that I thought would help others, and I'm sure you'll understand why it's too late for me, as I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's,” Favre told lawmakers, according to NBC News, ESPN and Fox News. “This, too, is a matter of the heart.”

According to a study published in 2020 by the Parkinson's Foundation, a single concussion increases the lifetime risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 57%.