Brett Favre Nearing NFL Career Interception Record: A Disgrace or Badge of Honor?

The end of the 2006 National Football League season is approaching. And, once again, the talk will turn to whether or not Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will retire.

There are a lot of reasons why he should quit. But the one that is mentioned most often is how he will likely break the NFL's all-time record for interceptions and put a black mark on his otherwise stellar career.

While I'll admit, on the surface, that record doesn't sound like one that you would want to break, I will argue that the media and fans make too big of deal out of it. If you put it in perspective, it is just as much of a testament to a player's abilities as any other career passing record.

Through 15 games of the 2006 season, Favre has 8,181 career pass attempts. That is second on the all time list and first place among active starting quarterbacks (Peyton Manning would be second among the active quarterbacks with 4,853 attempts). Through 16 seasons, Favre has played in 240 games, including 236 straight starts and is on his Fifth head coach and fourth general manager. During his tenure as starting quarterback, the other NFL teams have changed starting quarterbacks 178 times.

I'm bringing these numbers up for a reason. The key to breaking a career record, good or bad, is you need to be around long enough to break it. The average career of an NFL player, according to the NFL player's association, is four seasons. That's because many players either get injured or aren't good enough to play at the professional level. Many quarterbacks who turn pro end up retiring or being cut before they even throw a pass.

Of the other four quarterbacks ranked in the top five on the career interception list, three are in the NFL Hall of Fame. And, fans shouldn't be surprised about that. After all, the only players that are going to be on this list are the good players. That's because if a quarterback is lousy, they aren't going to be playing long enough to challenge for this title. Teams want to win and don't forgive mistakes easily.

If anything, if Favre returns next season and does break the interception mark, he should wear it as a badge of honor. Being the all-time leader in that category is basically saying "I'm so good; I can make mistakes and still keep my job."