Brett Favre owes $600K for speaking events he never attended in Mississippi: officials

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre owes $600,000 to the state of Mississippi for speaking events he never attended, state officials said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

Favre’s company, Favre Enterprises, was paid $1.1 million between 2017 and 2018 for three scheduled speaking events. The money was part of $94 million in welfare spending for the state, according to a 2020 audit report cited by the AP.

The $94 million was supposed to be used for the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, with the state being one of the poorest in the country. 

Favre paid back $500,000 after the audit was released, but a spokesman for Mississippi Auditor Shad White told the AP that officials haven’t heard back from Favre about the rest of the amount he owes. The spokesman said no formal agreement has been made between Favre and the state to pay back the money.

The AP noted that top school officials, a former head of the state’s welfare agency and ex-professional wrestler Brett DiBiase were indicted by the state court following the audit, though Favre has not been accused of a crime.

White’s office referred The Hill back to what the auditor said last year when he said there wasn’t any indication the quarterback knew the money was originally meant for needy residents. White had touted Favre’s announcement last year that he intended to repay the money.

The Hill has reached out to Favre’s agent for comment.

Favre made headlines recently for comments made on the Derek Chauvin murder trial and national anthem protests. The former quarterback lives near Hattiesburg, Miss.

Updated: 12:04 p.m.