Brett Favre says he wanted Deion Sanders at University of Southern Mississippi

Once upon a time, people who faced serious civil claims with the lingering possibility of criminal charges kept a low profile. My, how times have changed.

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has made a media resurgence of sorts as Mississippi sues him in connection with alleged welfare fraud. Most recently, Favre told TMZ.com that he wanted to lure Deion Sanders to coach the University of Southern Mississippi before Sanders became the head coach at Jackson State and, since then, the head coach at Colorado.

“I knew he would do a great job,” Favre said. “I knew the things that we needed at Southern Miss, he checked the boxes. Attention, enthusiasm, getting people in the seats. He would’ve done that. . . . And, I knew players would follow him. Not to mention, we’d have gotten his son, who’s probably going to be one of the Heisman finalists this year.”

Favre and Sanders were teammates with the Falcons in 1991.

As reported last year by A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com, Favre allegedly tried to steer $1.5 million in state funding to the construction of an indoor practice facility at USM — in addition to the $5 million Favre allegedly secured for a volleyball venue there. The goal was to get Sanders’s son, Shedeur, to attend USM.

“I picked up Deion Sanders and his son who is going to be a junior in high school and plays QB,” Favre texted to former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant in 2019. “He has at least 30 offers thus far including us. Deion and I have been great friends since [1991] and have great respect for each other.

“As I suspected Deion’s son asked where the indoor facility was and I said [we] don’t have one but [we] are hoping to break ground in less than 2 years. . . . I know we have the [the volleyball center] to complete first and I’m asking a lot.”

Favre asked a lot and got a lot. He denies knowing that the money he sought came from federal welfare funds.