You can plead no contest, you can plead the fifth. But if you’re a 20-year NFL vet who misappropriated $77 million in welfare funds, you should try and plead Parkinson’s.

And that’s just what Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brett Favre did on Tuesday when testifying before a congressional subcommittee on welfare misuse in Mississippi.

The three-time MVP was called to testify about the misuse of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in Mississippi, where over $90 million was diverted from the fund between 2016 and 2019.

Some of those funds were used to build a volleyball court at the University of Southern Mississippi at Favre’s behest, whose daughter plays for the school. While Brett Favre does not face criminal charges, he has been working to repay the funds through charitable speaking engagements.

The latest twist has been called unexpected but brilliant by legal strategists who, frankly, didn’t see it coming. “I thought ‘loving father’ or maybe even the classic ‘I didn’t know I couldn’t do that’ would be where he went. But a progressive nervous system disorder? Man, bravo, Brett.”

The admission of the disease was enough to derail the hearing for a time, shifting attention to Favre’s playing career and the possibility that head trauma over the years may have played a role in the diagnosis. The former Green Bay great estimates he has had over 1,000 concussions in his playing career.

The timely admission was enough to overshadow the $77 million that was diverted by Favre and 19 other defendants. He is seemingly in the clear for criminal charges and is working to repay funds and help reform the TANF. However, should charges be brought, he has already laid the groundwork to declare dementia in a future court appearance.