Brett Favre once got candid about his scary struggle with painkillers - “I was taking 15 a night”
Fans were impressed by Brett Favre's efforts on the football field during his 20 seasons in the NFL. The Pro Football Hall of Famer played through pain and sacrificed his body. In a 2016 interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Favre spoke about how he became addicted to painkillers.
He opened up about his mental and physical struggles and how many pills he took each night:
"I shouldn't say kind of, I know things around me seemed like they were good, but internally I hit rock bottom. I said I'm going to flush these down the toilet, the remainders. And I remember when I poured them in the toilet and it started to flush, I almost crawled into the toilet to go after them."
"Because I thought, what in the world did you just do, because I had such a dependency on those. I was taking 15 a night. Any expert would tell you that's not the way to ween yourself off."
In 1996, the Green Bay Packers star voluntary checked himself into the NFL's substance abuse program. Favre completed a 46-day stay at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas on June 28, 1996.
The quarterback saw a psychiatrist and participated in group therapy sessions while he was at the clinic. He married his wife Deanna a few weeks after completing the program on July 14, 1996.
Brett Favre's Stellar NFL Career
Favre was selected 33rd overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1991 NFL Draft. After just one season in Atlanta, he was traded to the Packers. Favre made his first start with Green Bay during the 1992 season. It would be the first of an NFL record 297 straight starts under center. Additionally, Brett Favre would go on to win three straight MVP awards (1995 - 1997).
Fave led the Packers to their third Super Bowl in franchise history on January 26, 1997. After 16 seasons in Green Bay, the Southern Mississippi star was traded to the New York Jets. He left as the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
March 4, 2008: Brett Favre formally announces his retirement from the NFL at a press conference in Green Bay.
Five months later, Favre changed his mind about retiring and was traded to the Jets. https://t.co/l4NSKHyxl9
Brett Favre spent one year in New York before playing his final two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He finished his career top-five in passing yards and touchdowns while also recording the most interceptions (336) and pick-sixes (32).