Brett Favre, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history has retired after seventeen years with the Green Bay Packers. He made the announcement to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

“If I felt like coming back — and Deanna [his wife] and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl. To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful,” Favre said in the message.

“I know it shouldn’t feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl. And honestly, the odds of that, they’re tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn’t up for. “

This is a big blow for the NFL and the Packers. Favre is the toughest player in NFL history and one of the last successful gunslingers.

Favre holds the all-time quarterback records for touchdowns, yards, quarterback wins and interceptions. The Packers only had one losing season in the sixteen seasons Favre was their quarterback.

He played in his last 275 consecutive starts as quarterback. A record that will likely never be broken.

His final numbers are 442 touchdowns, 61,655 passing yards and a record of 160-93. Favre won the MVP award three times.

The guy with the impossible task of replacing Favre will be Aaron Rodgers.