Brett Favre's 'Bountygate' game-worn Vikings jersey up for auction
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Most of Brett Favre’s iconic moments during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career came while playing for the Green Bay Packers.
But it’s a jersey the star quarterback wore while a member of the Minnesota Vikings that could fetch at least $30,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum Night Auction that takes place Feb. 25-26.
The jersey is from the Vikings’ 31-28 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game on Jan. 24, 2010, which is significant for multiple reasons.
Not only did it turn out to be the last playoff game of Favre’s 20-year career, but it also is from the infamous "Bountygate" game in which Saints defensive players were part of a scheme that rewarded them for injuring opposing players.
“It’s one of the most significant jerseys,” said Heritage consignment director Tony Giese, a Wisconsin native who graduated from Coleman High School in 1995 and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2000. “It really signifies the changing of an era. After 'Bountygate' the penalties that (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell instituted on the Saints, he came down so hard on that organization that it kind of signified a change in the way the game was played.
“Now, you are starting to see more health and safety. Back then, my God, it was almost criminal what they did to Brett Favre in the game. They literally teed off on him every single time.”
Indeed, Favre was hit late on multiple occasions that afternoon and briefly had to leave in the third quarter with an ankle injury sustained after a high-low hit from defensive linemen Bobby McCray and Remi Ayodele.
There was enough evidence after a lengthy investigation to convince league officials the Saints did have a bounty program that paid bonuses for injuring key players.
The punishments and fines levied on the organization were significant.
Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the 2012 season, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely, general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended the first eight games of 2012 and assistant coach Joe Vitt was suspended for the first six.
The Saints also were fined $500,000 and docked multiple draft picks.
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Favre wore two jerseys during the Bountygate game, one in the first half and another in the second half and overtime.
The jersey being auctioned is from the second half and overtime. While both are considered jerseys from his final playoff game, the second likely is more desirable.
It was the final one he wore that day and the one he was wearing when he briefly was knocked out of the game. It also was the one he was wearing when he threw a costly interception at the end of regulation while attempting to put the Vikings in better field goal position.
The jersey comes from MeiGray, one of the biggest sources for game-worn jerseys.
More importantly for collectors, it has been photo-matched through pictures taken during the game from The Associated Press. Photo-matched jerseys can go for three or four times the amount of a jersey without photo documentation.
A black mark on the left shoulder of the jersey, the alignment of the mesh holes on the front of the jersey to the numbers and the crease patterns under both shoulder seams on the front of the jersey all have been photo-matched.
Favre also autographed the jersey and inscribed “@NO Game Worn,” with a picture of him signing it and a letter of authentication from both PSA/DNA and Beckett Authentication Services.
There already has been an early bid of $9,000 — which includes the 20% buyer’s premium — with more than three weeks remaining in the auction.
“Just an historic jersey,” Giese said. “As a Packers fan I really didn’t like him in a Vikings jersey. But we were all compelled during that game thinking, ‘Is he actually going to lead the Vikings to a Super Bowl?’”
Favre always will be associated more for his time in Green Bay than stints with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Vikings.
While the auction should generate significant bids, it remains to be seen how many will be from Packers collectors. They might not want a Favre jersey that came while he was a member of the hated Vikings.
“I think it’s going to be the football fan, I don’t know if a Packers fan would necessarily pony up what it’s going to go for,” Giese said. “What I will tell you, at least on the photo-matched jerseys, we have seen a spike in the prices. It has gone up considerably in the last three or four years. Because it’s photo-matched and because it’s his last playoff game, when you factor all that in there and with 'Bountygate,' it’s going to go for a really good number.”
Giese doesn’t believe any of the current negativity surrounding Favre will impact the price.
Favre has been linked to a welfare scandal in Mississippi after the state discovered more than $70 million in welfare funds that weren’t used correctly.
It was alleged Favre was paid $1.1 million for speeches and appearances he never made while also having a role in the $5 million that improperly was used to build a volleyball venue at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he played football in college and where his daughter at the time played volleyball.
Favre has denied most of the allegations and is not currently facing criminal charges.
“Some of the newer players, the Justin Herberts, the Joe Burrows, they are getting $50,000 for a one-game jersey,” Giese said. “I think you are going to start to see, I don’t want to say vintage, but some of these superstars from a past era start to catch up to that. If somebody is going to pay $50,000 for a Joe Burrow or $50,000 for a Justin Herbert, I’d much rather have a Brett Favre.
“I know there is some negativity in his name, but we’ve seen Favre game-used prices continue to go up. I don’t think it’s going to be all that negatively affected by the not-so-good things he has been doing. … Favre is, in my opinion, one of the top-five quarterbacks of all time.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brett Favre's 'Bountygate' game-worn Vikings jersey up for auction
