Most people that make contracts with the Devil have little negotiating power, and end up having to sign whatever the Devil offers (think Prince Fielder here). Brett, on the other hand, had all the leverage and was able to whip up some extra perks in his contract. I mean, how else can you explain his completely unrealistic ability to start 213 consecutive games as QB. The QB is the target of 11 hard-hitting guys on every play. Chris Chandler couldn't make it through 3 games without getting a concussion, and Brett lasted for over 12 years.

Ultimately, the Devil realized he'd made a bad contract, and with both players having an option for 2008, the Devil ultimately decided it was in his best interest to not exercise that option. Brett was left with no other option than to retire.

A little known fact is that TV stations have obituaries pre-recorded for people, so that when they die, they have something ready to run on the news. This is common practice. It's also common practice for sports and sport-o-tainment channels to have retirement pieces ready, should a star player be ready to retire.

Brett has been playing the "will I or won't I" game for so long now, that many of these sports channels have gone through 2 or 3 of these prerecorded segments. For a certain 4 letter sports channel, who changes their focus, story angles, announcers, and graphics every few weeks, this meant rerecording every segment over and over and over again. At a certain point, Brett had a pang of guilt (he's only human after all).

We all know the media loves Brett. But, they only love him, they don't love him love him like Madden does. Every Monday night, or Sunday night, or Sunday afternoon (that's how long Brett's been active), if Madden is announcing the Packers game, you can be he's slurping up everything Brett does.

Now I'm not suggesting that Madden's former Raiders' players have said he's a big time cuddler, I'm not. But, with Madden getting up there in age, he just didn't have the time to devote to treating Brett like a god any more.

Be honest - the thought of having to face off against Tavaris Jackson twice a year, and his 89 yards passing a game, is enough to make any man too scared to get on the same field as Jackson. That's the "intimidation factor" at its greatest.

Cheese is 3 of the 4 basic food groups in Green Bay (the other being sausage). Brett isn't getting any younger, and any older readers out there over the age of 40 know that cheese + old person digestive tract = 2-3 hours, with a newspaper, on the can. Brett just couldn't devote that kind of time. He was mentally exhausted just thinking of the effort.

Favre pretty much invented the day-old scruff look and made it popular. I know I chose to go that route almost my entire college career, which probably has a lot to do with my dating life in college as well. Perhaps I should have been an All-American QB to pull that look off too.

In any case, Favre was known for the look, it was his trademark, which made it even tougher for him to continue when his own trademark began to turn gray.

Because Brett Favvvruh reminds most people of Marlon Brando.

Look, Brett is a businessman just like any other - he wants to make as much money as possible. Granted, he could make $5M next year playing football. He'd have to work for that money though. Brett wants his money working for him.

A little known truth is that Brett Favre has been cornering the market on Aaron Rodgers Rookie Cards over the past few years, and now owns 200,000 of them. Brett's making a smart business decision - by retiring now, those cards will only increase in value.

I remember playing games of tackle football in the snow when I was young. It was fun. You had your whole snow pants on, thick gloves, and a warm cup of hot chocolate waiting for you after the game (my Mom's secret ingredient = love...and some cinnamon).

However, there is a BIG difference between playing in 30 degrees, and playing in -20 degrees. 30 degrees is fun - negative 20 degrees is painful. I'm not just talking painful to the face, fingers, arms, legs, and toes. I'm talking about the boys downstairs...there's nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide when it's that cold out.

Who wouldn't want to spend more time at home with Mrs. Favre?