Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre testified Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee in a prepared statement that he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Favre, 54, testified about welfare abuses in Mississippi and allegations that he and others used Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for personal and business gain. Favre, who earned about $140 million during a 20-year NFL career that ended in 2010, said in his testimony that he did not know he was receiving welfare benefits and that he was misled by government officials.

A Mississippi state audit found that $5 million in TANF funds was used to build a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi — Favre’s alma mater — and that $1.7 million was paid to Prevacus, a company developing concussion medications. Favre’s daughter was a volleyball player at Southern Mississippi at the time, and Favre is an investor in Prevacus, whose founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July.

Favre, who has not been criminally charged, paid back $1.1 million in TANF money for speeches he never gave. The Mississippi Department of Human Services filed a civil lawsuit against him and other defendants, citing text messages between Favre and officials as evidence of his involvement in embezzling funds.

Favre, a Green Bay Packers legend who played in more than 300 NFL games, has long advocated for research into concussions and the brain injuries they cause. When asked on the “Today” show in 2018 how many concussions he’d suffered, Favre said he’d been diagnosed with “three or four” but believed the true number was much higher.

“If you’re having ringing in your ears, seeing stars, that’s a concussion,” Favre said on the show. “And if that’s a concussion, I’ve had hundreds, maybe thousands of them in my career, and it’s scary.”

A 2020 study published in the journal Family Medicine and Community Health found that “regardless of age, sex, socioeconomic status, and place of residence, having a single concussion in a person’s lifetime increased the likelihood of later being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by 57%.”

“Unfortunately, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough drug for concussions that I thought could help others. I’m sure you can understand why it’s too late for me, as I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” Favre told the congressional committee on Tuesday.

Favre was portrayed in court documents in the embezzlement case as a willing participant in the scheme that allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars to the poorest people in the nation’s poorest state.

Court documents and text messages outlined his involvement in diverting TANF money. Favre and then-Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant discussed via text message the use of $5 million to help build the Southern Mississippi volleyball arena.

Favre also exchanged text messages with Nancy New, director of the training center responsible for allocating millions in government funds.

“If you were to pay me, is there any way the media could find out where it came from and how much?” Favre allegedly asked her.

New, who later pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud, bribery and extortion for her role in the theft of TANF funds, responded, “We never made that information public.”