Brett Favre Blasts Modern NFL On Tomi Lahren Show: Not Appealing To 'True Fans'

For a sport and league that's become the most popular in the United States, the modern NFL has seemingly gone out of its way to become divisive.

There are numerous examples from recent years, from social justice and DEI initiatives to absurd "choose love" helmet messages, to their musical guests at big events. Nowhere was that more obvious than Super Bowl LX a few weeks ago. Instead of the halftime show becoming the unifying moment that it could have been, the league signed off on Bad Bunny as "entertainment." He was awful, mumbling through his set of songs that frequently ran together due to his lack of vocal talent. 

While the sets were impressive, some of the choreography was extremely adult, as were his lyrics. As a result, ratings were down year-over-year, an even bigger disaster considering new ratings methodology has increased tracked viewership for almost everything.

RELATED: Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show Leads To Massive Decline In Viewership: NEW REPORT

It's worth wondering then, why. And it's not just fans wondering, it's one of the best players in the history of the sport wondering too. Legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre joined "Tomi Lahren Is Fearless" this week and said he's noticed the NFL is abandoning longtime fans.

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Favre Thinks NFL Has ‘Changed’

Lahren said that even for casual NFL fans like herself, there's been a noticeable change in how the league approaches fans. "I do remember a time when even me as a kid sitting home and... South Dakota, with no major NFL team really anywhere near me, would still watch the Super Bowl and feel like it was, you know, an American thing," she said. "And then, I don't know, somewhere around Colin Kaepernick, it felt like that shifted a little bit. And then a lot of American casual viewers like me were like, 'You, know what? I don't know if the NFL is for us anymore.' Do you think there's any truth to that? And why do you think the narrative has changed?"

Favre agreed, adding, "I think there probably is some truth to that." But even he's at a loss to understand why. "Why that has changed, I really don't know," he continued. "Because I think your general football audience is people like you and I. Maybe loves football, or maybe is a casual, fair weather fan, but it is the biggest show in town. So you watch it, you know, you watch the halftime show and who sang the national anthem. You know, that's been that way for a long time, but you're right, you know, in the last maybe 10 years, maybe a little longer, there's been a slight shift. For whatever reason, I have no idea, because you want to appeal to your true fans. And it doesn't seem like that is the case anymore."

The answer, though, is obvious. The NFL takes those fans for granted. They know that traditional football fans will watch regardless, and that casuals will tune in for big events to be part of the cultural conversation. So, they target other types of fans instead, alienating their traditional fanbase in the process. So far, it's worked. People still watch the NFL in record numbers. The Super Bowl still brought in insane viewership. And so they'll keep pushing it and seeing what they can get away with it. Clearly, the answer is a lot.

Check out the full interview below: