Brett Favre Still Owes Mississippi $600,000 for Missed Events

Brett Favre is still in arrears with the State of Mississippi over money he received for speaking engagements he never attended. State officials say that Favre, a retired NFL superstar who played college football at Southen Miss in  Hattiesburg, still owes the state $600,000 of the $1.1 million he promised to pay back.

This all stems from a May 2020 audit in which it was revealed that Favre's company was paid $1.1 million dollars for speaking engagements the former footballer was to make in support of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. That money was part of $94 million in welfare spending that was called into question as a result of the audit in 2020.

According to a story published by ESPN, Favre did make an initial payment of $500,000 to the state after the story first broke about the audit. The former quarterback gave a voluntary commitment to repay the rest of the money shortly after that initial $500,000 payment. But so far the state auditors office has yet to hear from Favre on the remaining balance.

Just to be clear, Brett Favre is not accused of a crime. However, the audit discovered that Favre was contracted to make at least three speaking engagements. The auditor's review of those engagements found that not only did Farve not make a speech. He wasn't even present at the events in question.

One more point of clarity, Logan Reeves, a spokesperson for the Mississippi State Auditors Office did say that Favre was not obligated to pay the money back. The auditor's report noted that there was no formal agreement between Favre, his company, and the state or federal government that would require repayment. However, the former NFL star did give his word.

According to the ESPN story, neither Favre nor his agent responded to a request for a comment on the situation. Meanwhile, The case is currently in the hands of the federal Office of the Inspector General who will determine if there was any wrongdoing or misspending of funds in connection with the allegations.