Broadway Brett
Call him Broadway Brett.
The New York Jets outbid the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and obtained quarterback Brett Favre in a trade late Wednesday night with the Green Bay Packers.
So Favre will join former quarterbacking greats Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath and Joe Montana in ending his career in a uniform that won't look right on him.
He won't get to face the Packers this season unless the two teams reach the Super Bowl.
He doesn't get to play in Minnesota, as he seemed to want, for a championship-ready Vikings club with coaches he knows, an imposing defense, a superb offensive line and dominant tailback Adrian Peterson.
He leaves not only the NFC North, but the NFC altogether.
But he does get to play on the big New York stage. He joins a team that went 4-12 last season but already had made several expensive offseason upgrades by signing guard Alan Faneca and linebacker Calvin Pace as free agents. The Jets might not be ready to challenge the New England Patriots in the AFC East. But they can hope to return to playoff contender status, even in the rugged AFC. Perhaps Eric Mangini can regain the genius label that he'd secured in his rookie season as an NFL head coach.
The Jets, at least, matter again.
They are instantly relevant.
The Packers emerged with what they'd wanted. They get a conditional draft pick from the Jets, a fourth-rounder, that can escalate in value, potentially to as much as a first-rounder. They move on without Favre and, right or wrong, with Aaron Rodgers as their starter at quarterback.
Two franchises changed dramatically late Wednesday night, and the Favre saga that kept the football-watching public on edge in recent weeks at last has a conclusion. It was a surprising conclusion, given that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been viewed as the front-runner in the Favre sweepstakes, but what else did you expect from this football soap opera?
UPDATE (2:30 a.m.)... According to the NFL Network, the fourth-round pick that the Jets are trading to the Packers becomes a third-rounder if Favre participates in 50 percent of the Jets' offensive plays this season. It becomes a second-rounder if Favre takes 70 percent of the snaps and the Jets reach the playoffs, and a first-rounder if Favre takes 80 percent of the snaps and the Jets reach the Super Bowl. The Jets owe the Packers three first-round picks if they trade Favre to Minnesota.
UPDATE II (2:47 a.m.)... Favre is expected to join the Jets to watch their opening preseason game Thursday night in Cleveland.
By Mark Maske |
August 7, 2008; 2:06 AM ET
| Category:
Jets
,
Packers
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Posted by: Essex | August 7, 2008 10:19 AM
"The Jets owe the Packers three first-round picks if they trade Favre to Minnesota."
What if the Jets trade him to a middleman (middleteam?), which then trades him to the Vikings? Does the trade language account for every circuitous path by which he might reach Minnesota (or Chicago, for that matter)?
Posted by: Professor Chaos | August 7, 2008 10:49 AM
Life has a way of equalizing things. Just hope that Mr. Narcissist doesn't get hurt, which I think he will.
Posted by: humelsineswim@cox.net | August 7, 2008 10:54 AM
The pick turns into a third-round selection if Favre plays in 50 percent of the plays this season, a second-rounder if he plays in 70 percent of the plays and the Jets qualify for the playoffs, and a first-round pick if he plays in 80 percent of the plays and Jets make it to the Super Bowl.
Schefter reports if Favre were to retire after the first year and the Packers got the Jets' first-round pick, then the Packers would send the Jets a fifth-round pick in 2010. If the Packers get the Jets' second-round pick, the Jets would get back the Packers' sixth-round pick in 2010. If the Packers get the Jets third-round pick, the Jets would get back the Packers' seventh-round pick in 2010. Additionally, in the scenario in which the Packers would get the Jets first-round pick, Favre must play in at least 50 percent of one playoff game for Green Bay to get that compensation.
Not only did the Packers block the Vikings from trading for Favre, but they also have done the same to every team in the NFC North, Schefter reports. If the Jets were to trade Favre to any NFC North team, they would have to give Green Bay three No. 1 picks. And Green Bay didn't even stop there. The trade also includes provisions preventing a trade to another team if they were to trade him to the NFC North.
(from nfl.com)
Posted by: Gonzo, MD | August 7, 2008 1:24 PM
Gracias, Gonzo.
Posted by: Professor Chaos | August 7, 2008 2:01 PM
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