Brett Favre's lawyers to depose former governor in welfare fraud case

Brett Favre's legal battle has taken another turn, this time with upcoming testimony from his alleged co-conspirator.

Favre's lawyers plan to depose former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant later in January, weeks after the Pro Football Hall of Famer himself was deposed for eight hours.

According to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, Favre's legal team is hoping to highlight the former governor's role in the scheme where $7M in public welfare funds was allegedly redirected to two pet projects for the legendary quarterback. 

A majority of the money was supposedly funneled into the construction of a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre's daughter attended and played for its team. Additional money was reportedly moved to a pharmaceutical company Favre was heavily invested in.

Last July, Bryant sued Mississippi Today and its CEO for defamation after linking him to the scheme in its exhaustive investigation in public comments and articles. The non-profit organization, however, has yet to let up on its dive into the alleged scheme. 

In late December, Mississippi Today reported that Nancy New, a defendant in the case by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, alleged that Bryant directed the welfare funds into Favre's projects.

Favre, of course, tried a similar tact with two of his former NFL peers who became major sports media personalities. Favre filed a defamation lawsuit against current ESPN personality Pat McAfee, who unsurprisingly turned the ordeal into content for his eponymous show prior to signing with ESPN as a full-time contributor last spring. 

However, Favre's team dropped the suit — a moment also flipped into a moment of humor by McAfee. Favre also filed a defamation lawsuit against fellow Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe for comments he made while working on FS1's "Undisputed," and state auditor Shad White, whose investigation broke the scandal wide open. The case against Sharpe was dismissed, but Favre is appealing the decision.

A former deputy sheriff, Bryant served two terms as Mississippi's governor from 2012-20 after 20 years in various levels of state government, including a term in the state's House of Representatives in the early 1990s.

The scandal became a significant talking point leading up to Election Day this past November, yet it wasn't enough to topple incumbent governor Tate Reeves, whose name also came up the scandal as he served as Bryant's lieutenant governor.