Former New York Jets GM: I Told Brett Favre I'd Fine Him If He Didn't Hunt And Fish

Mike Tannenbaum recounts his unusual sales pitch to Brett Favre

If Tom Brady wants special privileges to re-sign with the New England Patriots, he won’t be the first veteran quarterback to get preferential treatment. In August of 2008, the New York Jets provided Brett Favre with a special scenario that the avid outdoorsman simply couldn’t refuse. 

In fact, they threatened to fine him if he didn’t participate in his favorite leisure activity. 

Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, still the last team executive to architect this franchise into the playoffs, recounted on Friday his very special pitch to Favre. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback and future Hall of Fame inductee had retired in March, 2008 but now, as training camp had started, had signaled that he wanted to play again. 

The Jets had interest in the legendary quarterback. They weren’t the only NFL team that wanted to make a deal with the Packers for Favre. 

Favre’s former offensive coordinator with the Packers, Jon Gruden, was then at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was trying to entice him with a relatively short flight commute between Florida and Favre’s residence in Mississippi. He was also pitching against the Jets, saying that New York City was not a comfortable place for a country boy like Favre. 

So the Jets had to do something different and a bit offbeat to convince Favre that, if they were to make a deal for him, that he should play for the Jets and not stay retired. So Tannenbaum and then Jets head coach Eric Mangini tapped into Favre’s love of being an outdoorsman. 

“We said we want you to come to the Jets but you’re not going to be in Time Square like Jon Gruden is saying,” Tannenbaum, now an analyst on ESPN, told the network’s Mike Greenberg on Friday morning. 

“We’re going to make it mandatory on Monday afternoon and Tuesday hunt and fish at our owner’s farm 20 minutes away. He didn’t believe us, we actually sent Google satellite imaging of the farms.” 

.@espngreeny and I discussed Tom Brady and Brett Favre going to the @Nyjets on @getupespn. pic.twitter.com/a4LgkMzZR8

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) February 7, 2020

The Jets agreed to terms with the Packers and sent a mid-tier draft pick in exchange for Favre. The timing of the move was perfect. 

That year, the Jets moved their practice facility from Long Island to Morris County in northern New Jersey, an hour west of New York City. The area is suburban and borderline rural, with a number of farms and natural preserves dotting the area. 

Hiking is popular in the area and that part of New Jersey is teeming with rivers for fishing as well as numerous hunting spots. It is certainly not the stereotypical vision of the state, as seen in the opening credits of ‘The Sopranos.’ 

Had the Jets not been moving into the new facility in the middle of farm land, they may not have been able to convince Favre on the move. Favre had been toying 

To top off the sales pitch and to show their seriousness, Tannenbaum asked for Favre’s pants size. 

“We FedEx’d him 38-inch camo pants and that’s what got the job done and Brett Favre became a New York Jet,” Tannenbaum said. 

The end result, wasn’t so great. 

That year, the Jets finished 9-7, closing out the season with just one win from their last five games and missing the playoffs. Mangini was fired. 

The silver lining for the Jets was that Tannenbaum went on to hire Rex Ryan as the organization’s next head coach. The Jets made consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances in Ryan’s first two years with the team.