A conditional 4th round pick. That’s how much Brett Favre’s 16 years, 9 Pro Bowls, 3 MVP awards, and 1 Super Bowl mean to the Green Bay Packers today. In absolutely no-one’s idea of a blockbuster trade (except, maybe, Mike Greenberg), the Pack traded Favre to the New York Jets and erased the last of the gloss on Favre’s legacy in Wisconsin.

For years Favre has been Green Bay’s golden boy, an icon whose passion for the sport, dogged determination, and dedication to his team rendered his character unassailable. Now he’s a Jet, just another gun-for-hire on a team assembled for a ghastly sum in a desperate attempt to erase the memory of last season’s 4-12 finish.

No one is surprised that Favre left the Pack. From the moment he announced his decision to return this season, Green Bay fought tooth and nail to shuffle him out of the way, even offering him $25 million to stay on his couch and be the ultimate armchair quarterback. And, while I’m sure many will disagree with me, he should have taken the money and run.

Favre’s return caused problems that Green Bay had no easy answer for. They see Aaron Rodgers as the future of the franchise, and regardless of the prudence of that decision, he had already been handed the reins to the team. Taking away the starting role and sitting Rodgers for another season would have irreparably damaged his relationship with the team just as keeping Favre as a backup, had he agreed to such an arrangement, would have seriously undermined Rodgers’ newfound authority. “You’re our starter, Aaron. Don’t mind the 7 time All-Pro local hero sitting on the bench. He won’t play unless you screw up. No pressure!”

With Favre set on playing, he at least made a smart decision in getting out of town instead of pushing for the starting role in GB. This ordeal could have been dragged out much longer and gotten much uglier than it wound up being. At the same time it’s hard to see him maintaining his squeaky clean reputation after this. Favre is inextricably linked to the Packers, and I have to believe that his decisions this summer will tarnish the bond with those fans. In order to play he had to leave. But did he really HAVE to play?

The real question now is whether the Jets have what it takes to go all the way this year. Favre is a great competitor, and I guarantee he didn’t come back to have a middling season with a mediocre team. The Jets have made strong offseason acquisitions, but after a lousy 2007 season they have a lot to prove. Thomas Jones will take pressure off Favre if he has another strong season, but if Favre doesn’t lead this team to a championship, or at least deep into the playoffs, I have to believe that his return will be looked at as a failure. The first time he retired he was a legend. Here’s hoping that next time he won’t be a joke.