Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre received $1.1 million from the state of Mississippi for public appearances he never made, an audit of the state’s Department of Human Services showed.
The Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported that Favre received two lump payments totaling that amount and was supposed to make speeches for the money.
Favre isn’t facing any criminal charges. The spending was uncovered as part of an audit that took place after former Human Services director John Davis and others were indicted and charged with embezzling about $4 million. In all, the audit showed $94 million in what the newspaper termed “questionable spending” by the agency, which is supposed to allocate its funds toward needy people in the state.
“If there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it,” state auditor Shad White said Monday. He said the audit showed “the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers.”
The Clarion Ledger said the report showed that in the instance of Favre, he wasn’t present at specified events and made no speeches.
Neither Favre nor his longtime agent, Bus Cook, responded to the newspaper’s request for comment.
Favre, 50, is a Mississipi native who played at Southern Miss before beginning his 20-year NFL career in 1991. He won the Super Bowl with the 1997 Green Bay Packers and also played for the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons.
