Brett Lorenzo Favre was born on Oct. 10, 1969, in Gulfport, Miss., and grew up in the tiny town of Kiln, Miss. In high school he starred in baseball and football. Under the training of his father, who was the high school football coach, he learned to play the positions of quarterback, strong safety, punter, and place kicker. By his sophomore year at the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre was the starting quarterback for the Golden Eagles football team. In the summer following his junior year, he was injured in a car accident and had to have part of his intestines surgically removed. A month later, however, when the football season began, he was able to rejoin the team. During Favre's college career, the Golden Eagles won 29 games, two of them bowl games, and he was named most valuable player at the East-West Shrine Game and at the All-American Bowl.

Favre was drafted in 1991 by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round. Although he was the 33rd player picked overall, he was on Atlanta's active roster only three times and played in only two games. In 1992 the 6-foot 2-inch (1.8-meter), 225-pound (102-kilogram) Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers as a reserve quarterback. Early in Favre's first season with the Packers the starting quarterback was sidelined with an injury, and Favre was named to start. That season he threw 111 consecutive passes without an interception and completed a team record 64.1 percent of his passes. In 1993 he started all 16 regular-season games and had the highest number of pass completions in the NFL's National Conference, with 318 completions and only 24 interceptions. In 1994 he passed for 3,882 yards (3,550 meters) and 33 touchdowns, had a team record 82.2 passer rating, and came in second in the most valuable player balloting. In 1995 Favre passed for his 100th touchdown in his 62nd game. Only two other quarterbacks in NFL history had done so faster. He also led the Packers to the National Conference championship game, was selected to play in his third Pro Bowl, and won the most valuable player award.

After the 1995 football season, Favre took part in a rehabilitation program at a clinic in Topeka, Kan., where he worked to overcome an addiction to prescription pain relievers. In 1996 he threw 39 touchdown passes, setting team and National Conference records and placing third on the NFL record list. He ranked among the NFL elite in many passing categories. In his 66th game Favre hit the 15,000-yard (13,716-meter) passing mark, tying him for third place in the record books for fastest achievement of that goal. In 1996 his passer rating was 95.8, and the Packers won their division and blazed through the playoffs, earning them a chance at a Super Bowl title for the first time since 1968. During the winning game, Favre set a Super Bowl record by throwing an 81-yard (74-meter) touchdown pass. He led the team to the Super Bowl again the following season, where they lost to the Denver Broncos.