Goodbye, Gridiron Man

Well, it looks like this time he's really done it.

Sure, we've heard it before. But if Favre really has declined to have the surgery on his arm, that indicates he's not intending to throw a football with it anytime soon.

So he retires with 3 consecutive MVPs, not to mention 65,127 passing yards, 464 passing touchdowns, 9,280 attempts, 5,720 completions, and 291 consecutive starts (including playoffs), all of which are the most by any player in NFL history. But let's get to the really important number in Brett Favre's pro career - 15.

Not counting individual game or partial-season patches and tributes, or changes in manufacturer's marks, these are the uniforms Brett has worn in the pros:

1. 1991 Atlanta Falcons home
   
2. 1991 Atlanta Falcons away
   
3. 1992-1996 Green Bay Packers home
   
4. 1992-1996 Green Bay Packers away
   
5. 1994 Green Bay Packers home throwback (09/18/1994 v. Philadelphia, 10/02/1994 v. New England and 09/25/1994 v. Tampa Bay)
   
6. 1994 Green Bay Packers road throwback (10/31/1994 at Chicago)
   
7. 1997-2007 Green Bay Packers home (eliminating the sleeve stripes pushes this into a new uniform in my universe, and therefore in this blog)
   
8. 1997-2007 Green Bay Packers road
   
9. 2001 Green Bay Packers road throwback (11/22/2001 at Detroit)
   
10. 2003 Green Bay Packers road throwback (09/27/2003 at Detroit)
    
11. 2008 New York Jets home (green jerseys/white pants)
    
12. 2008 New York Jets away (white jerseys/green pants)
    
13. 2008 New York Jets away alternate (white jerseys/white pants, 09/22/2008 at San Diego)
    
14. 2008 New York Jets home alternate (green jerseys/green pants, 12/14/2008 v. Buffalo)
    
15. 2008 New York Jets/Titans home throwback (09/28/2008 v. Arizona and 10/12/2008 v. Cincinnati)

That's a pretty decent list (and for what it's worth, the Packers and Jets use the exact same shade of Pantone green). What's surprising to me is that one-third of his uniforms were worn in the final year of his career.

Had Favre stuck around for one more season, he would have worn the New York Titans road throwback the Jets are about to unveil. And yet, when I think of his career, I'll always see him wearing the green and gold at Lambeau. I suspect that in a couple years, the image of him as a Jet will seem as strange to our eyes as a picture of him in Atlanta black does now.

Goodbye, Gridiron Man. Looking forward to the inevitable ceremony taking #4 out of circulation, and a trip to Canton in 2014.