Ex-NFL star Brett Favre blames former Gov. Bryant for $77M lost in Mississippi's largest fraud case

Photo byGetty Images

Longtime Packers star Brett Favre and former Governor Phil Bryant are in hot water for their ties to the misappropriation of roughly $77 million in Mississippi state funds. The welfare scandal is being described as Mississippi's largest-ever public corruption case.

Favre, along with 47 other defendants, are accused of stealing millions of dollars intended to aid Mississippi's lower class.

The funds that were illegally obtained in this case were intended to help the poorest among us. The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. It ends today,” said State Auditor Shad White.

Next week, the legal battle will take another turn, as Favre's alleged co-conspirator Bryant will testify in court.

Favre's lawyers plan to depose former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant later in January, weeks after the Pro Football Hall of Famer himself was deposed for eight hours.

Between 2017 and 2019, the Bryant-appointed former Mississippi Department of Human Services Director John Davis and Mississippi Community Education Center nonprofit operator Nancy New disbursed millions in Temporary Assistance For Needy Families funds to Favre, a pharmaceutical business he was heavily invested in called Prevacus, and a volleyball stadium Favre wanted built at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Bryant, who served as the governor at the time, texted in 2019 with Favre, about raising funds for the USM facility he desired. Bryant told him federal money for children and low-income adults is "tightly controlled" and "improper use could result in violation of Federal Law."

During their text conversation, Favre expressed that he wanted to use Bryant's political sway to acquire more funding for a facility at his alma mater.

I need your influence somehow to get donations and or sponsorships," Favre texted Bryant. "Obviously Southern has no money so I'm hustling to get it raised."

These texts will likely be the most difficult to explain for Bryant, who will be deposed on January 25, roughly a month after Favre's deposition.

According to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, Favre's legal team is hoping to highlight the former governor's role in the scheme where $7M in public welfare funds was allegedly redirected to two pet projects for the legendary quarterback.

Bryant isn’t a defendant in the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) civil case. But since Favre was sued along with more than 40 others in May 2022, his defense team has attempted to highlight Bryant’s alleged involvement in the scheme that led to about $7 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds being illegally directed to two Favre-related projects.

Favre has since denied knowingly stealing the funds, though he is still under investigation.

I have been unjustly smeared in the media,” Favre said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight.”

No one ever told me, and I did not know that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me,” Favre said. “I tried to help my alma mater USM, a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.”

Favre, a three-time NFL MVP, made roughly $142 million throughout his 20-year NFL career.

Now, he could spend the rest of his post-professional life behind bars for his role in Mississippi's largest public fraud case.