Updated Dec. 31, 2025, 2:11 p.m. ET
Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre shared an update on his health a year after revealing he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, saying he is in the early stages of the disease.
Favre first revealed he had the brain disorder during a congressional hearing in September 2024, when he testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Parkinson’s is a “brain condition,” according to the World Health Organization, that causes problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain, and other health issues.” There is no cure, and it is estimated that nearly one million Americans are afflicted with the disease.
“I’m probably like most people – I thought there was just one Parkinson’s and that was it. There’s not. There’s multiple, many forms of Parkinson’s,” Favre said on the “4th and Favre” podcast. “And I have what’s called idiopathic, which is the most common. And I think the other thing most people think when they hear of Parkinson’s is they think of shaking.”
The 56-year-old Favre, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, says he manages his symptoms with medication, but sometimes he feels like a “pretzel.” Favre says his cognitive and memory functions are stable for now.
Favre adds that he hopes there is a cure and that he hears there may be one, but “I’m not holding my breath.”
“I get from time to time, ‘Oh you must not be too bad because you don’t shake.’ I have very little shaking. I have some, but it’s pretty rare” Favre said. “But as I’ve learned, the Parkinson’s that I have has three different characteristics. One of those three you’ll have as the dominant side effect. It’s cognitive and memory is one. Shaking and tremors is two. And rigidity and stiffness is three. I major in the rigidity and stiffness.”
