We’ve gone 14 straight stories without mentioning Brett Favre, but due to an unconfirmed tip we received today we’ve got to break the string.

We reiterate that this is an unconfirmed tip.  Then again, unconfirmed tips have been working out pretty well for us of late, so we’re more inclined than usual to press our luck.

Per the tipster, Favre is abandoning his attempt to return to the NFL.  We’re told the Packers presented him with a list of three teams to which they’d attempt to trade him, and that Favre refused each one.

If this is accurate, Favre will be the first high-profile pro athlete who damaged his legacy by not playing for a new team late in his career.  Last week’s shameful attempt to win the P.R. battle and to pressure the Packers into letting Brett have his way blew up in Favre’s face, with his surname suddenly less likely to conjure images of championships than to induce nausea.

But even if it’s accurate, look for this thing to continue to bubble up from time to time.  We had to endure six years of stories regarding whether he’ll retire; we very well could be destined to have six years of stories regarding whether he’ll unretire.

And if Aaron Rodgers tears, rips, or pops a critical part of his anatomy, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Packers would give him a call — and whether, if they do, Favre will pick up the phone.  The events of the last 10 days might have made a zero-year reunion impossible.

Meanwhile, Favre’s apparent decision not to try to return doesn’t change in any way the tampering charge the Packers filed last week against the Vikings.  So even though the story of Brett’s potential return could be dead, he did just enough to give us something that we can continue to cover for the next several months. 

Whether we want to or not.