Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers might be friends now, but 13 years ago, that definitely wasn't the case.
Back in 2005, after the Packers decided to select Rodgers with the 24th overall pick in the NFL Draft, Green Bay's newest quarterback didn't get a warm welcome from Favre. As a matter of fact, Favre didn't really want to have anything to do with Rodgers and that feeling was what led to one of the most famous Favre quotes of all-time.
"My contract doesn't say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play. Now hopefully he watches me and gets something from that," Favre said in 2005, via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Favre disliked Rodgers so much that he would regularly pull pranks on him, and if you're interested in how frosty their relationship got, you can click here and read an excerpt from a book about Favre that goes into more detail.
Of course, the two men are now on good terms and Favre is now open to talking about the situation, which is exactly what he did during a recent interview with ESPN 540-AM's Wilde and Tausch radio show.
"When I was 35 and Aaron was up and coming -- first, second year -- the only thing we had in common was we both played quarterback for the same team," Favre said, via NFL.com. "That was it."
Not only are Favre and Rodgers now friends, but the Ol' Gunslinger says that Rodgers now understands why Favre acted the way he did all those years ago. During the interview, Favre then revealed that he actually had a conversation with Rodgers last week about the nature of his 2005 quote and the Packers' current quarterback, who turns 35 in December, now gets what Favre was going through at the time.
"He said, 'I get it now. I get what you were saying or how you carried yourself,'" Favre said. "There is no clause that says, 'Hey, you groom the next guy who's going to take your job or else.' That doesn't work that way."
Favre also mentioned that the two did actually spend some time together in the film room while they were teammates, despite all the ugly stories saying that they disliked each other.
"We talked about that," Favre said. "He said, 'You know, remember when I first came in we'd go out, go watch film together after watching it with the -- we'd talk a little bit,' which we would. He'd ask me what I was looking at or I 'mind if I watch film with you,' which of course I didn't mind."
Favre also described one other thing he went through that Rodgers is now dealing with: playing so long that you see all your friends get released, fired or traded.
"The place that I was at, at that point, was I've seen a lot of guys who I was really close to come and go," Favre said. "I've seen a lot of coaches I was very close to, that meant a lot to my career that were here and gone."
Rodgers had to deal with both those things this offseason when the Packers got rid of Jordy Nelson and quarterback coach Alex Van Pelt.
"I looked around and even though I had the most years of anybody on the team, including coaches, I was the odd man out, so to speak," Favre said, describing his final years in Green Bay. "I guess the moral of this story is if you play long enough, it will happen to you, too. And until that moment comes, you really won't understand it."
Rodgers now understands it.
Although Rodgers and Favre are now apparently friends, that still doesn't mean that Rodgers is returning the Gunslinger's calls.
"I told Aaron, if I do anything, I'm going to get you a phone that works and he kind of chuckled," Favre said. "That guy may be the worst at returning messages."
After a rough start to their relationship, Favre and Rodgers have been on good terms since February 2013, when they surprisingly appeared on stage together at the NFL Honors ceremony.
