ESPN broke news this afternoon that Brett Favre has contacted several teammates and told them he is retiring and will not return for a 20^th season. Minnesota Vikings’ coach Brad Childress visited Favre a couple weeks back to see how he was doing. Upon his return, Childress said he didn’t have an inkling of whether Favre was returning or not. In his afternoon press conference this afternoon Childress said he can’t comment on the reports until he hears it from “the horse’s mouth.”

How will the Vikings fare without Favre? Prior to signing Favre last year, the Vikings made a playoff appearance in 2008 with Tavaris Jackson as the quarterback. But everyone saw how much better the team was with Brett Favre. Apparently the Vegas sportsbooks have also. They have increase the odds of them to win the Super Bowl after this announcement. 

But not every sportsbook is rushing to change their odds. Some, like Diamond Sportsbook, have taken their NFL futures down. If Favre actually retires and doesn’t return, Green Bay, who will have to reverse a couple historical trends, will be the clear favorite to win the division.