The only lawsuit Jenn Sterger herself filed over the 2010 Brett Favre sexting scandal was a March 2011 suit against her own manager, Phil Reese, in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Florida. She sued to recover the texts, voicemails, and photos Favre had allegedly sent her, and to stop Reese from using them for a tell-all book. She never sued Favre, the New York Jets, or the NFL, and by the time the story became public it was already too late to bring a workplace harassment claim.
What Sterger’s 2011 Lawsuit Actually Claimed
Sterger filed in March 2011 against Phil Reese, her manager at the time. According to the complaint, she had handed Reese the Favre-related texts, voicemails, and photos so he could help her get legal advice, but she had never transferred ownership. She said Reese was refusing to return the materials and was shopping a book deal built around her name and the Favre content.1New York Post. Jenn Sterger Sues Manager to Recover Favre Materials
The suit also asked the court to invalidate a January 2011 agreement forming a corporation called Game of Inches LLC, which Sterger said she had signed without independent legal advice.1New York Post. Jenn Sterger Sues Manager to Recover Favre Materials Her attorney, Jeffrey Brown, told reporters Reese was free to write a book but “cannot use any information he got from Jenn.” Brown also said earlier public talk of suing the Jets, Favre, and the NFL had been “completely orchestrated by Reese,” and that Sterger wanted to “remove her name from this whole ordeal.”2Deadspin. Jenn Sterger and Phil Reese and Their Game of Inches
Why She Never Sued Brett Favre
Several legal obstacles closed off a suit against Favre or the Jets. The federal deadline for a Title VII workplace sexual harassment claim is 300 days, and that clock had already run out by the time the scandal became public in October 2010.3CBS News New York. Brett Favre Jenn Sterger Legal Update New Jersey’s two-year statute of limitations for workplace harassment expired on December 28, 2010, measured from her last known contact with Favre at the end of the 2008 Jets season.4Business Insider. Today’s the Last Day Jenn Sterger Can File a Sexual Harassment Suit
Deadlines were not the only problem. The Jets had classified Sterger as an independent contractor rather than an employee, which undercuts standing to bring a traditional workplace harassment claim under federal or state law.3CBS News New York. Brett Favre Jenn Sterger Legal Update Favre was also not her supervisor, which made it harder to establish the workplace power dynamic these claims typically rely on. One legal analyst called a successful claim under those conditions a “heavy lift.”5NPR. NFL Fines Brett Favre Over Sexting Investigation
Reports in late 2010 described settlement discussions between Favre’s camp and Sterger’s representatives, but nothing was ever paid. Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, said: “We were never going to pay them, we didn’t pay them and we will never pay them.” Sterger’s attorney at the time, Joseph Conway, replied that the situation was “not about money.”6CBS News Minnesota. Brett Favre Jenn Sterger Settlement Investigation
What the NFL Investigation Produced Instead
With a civil claim effectively off the table, the NFL’s own inquiry became the only formal proceeding involving Sterger’s allegations. Sterger cooperated with investigators; Favre did not.7Time. Fall of Favre Netflix Jenn Sterger Interview In December 2010, Commissioner Roger Goodell said forensic analysts could not definitively establish that Favre had sent the explicit photographs, and that investigators found no evidence the two had ever met in person. Goodell said he “could not conclude” that Favre had violated league workplace conduct policies.8NFL.com. Favre Fined $50,000 for Lack of Cooperation in Investigation
Favre was fined $50,000 for failing to be “candid in several respects” during the investigation. Goodell noted that a workplace conduct finding would have brought “a substantially higher level of discipline,” and the fine was directed to a new league workplace conduct training program.8NFL.com. Favre Fined $50,000 for Lack of Cooperation in Investigation Conway called the outcome “an affront to all females” and said it showed “the NFL remains the good old boys’ league,” maintaining that the record showed “a pattern of lewd and offensive behavior by Mr. Favre that lasted all of the 2008 season.”9Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Jenn Sterger’s Attorney Releases Statement Blasting NFL’s Decision on Brett Favre
A Different Favre Lawsuit People Sometimes Confuse With Sterger’s
Sterger’s name is often linked to the only civil case that did reach Favre, but she was not a party to it. In January 2011, two licensed massage therapists who had worked for the Jets, Christina Scavo and Shannon O’Toole, sued Favre, the New York Jets LLC, and Jets massage therapist coordinator Lisa Ripi in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. They alleged Favre sent sexually suggestive texts to another therapist, and that they were fired after Scavo’s husband complained to Favre. They also alleged Ripi told them to “keep your mouth shut.”10Felhaber Larson. Scavo and O’Toole v. Favre Complaint
Favre denied the allegations and tried unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed in 2012. The suit settled out of court on undisclosed terms in May 2013.11NFL.com. Brett Favre Settles Suit Connected to Alleged Racy Texts12New York Times. Lawsuit Against Brett Favre by Two Women Settled Sterger had no role in that case.
Where Sterger Landed After
Sterger has said the public exposure of the materials cost her work and her reputation. In the 2025 Netflix documentary Untold: The Fall of Favre, she said: “Brett Favre ultimately destroyed my life.”13USA Today. Brett Favre The Fall of Favre Netflix Review She has since built a career as a comedian, writer, and actress, performing at The Comedy Store, The Improv, and The Laugh Factory, writing for Comedy Central’s The Upside w/ Ian Karmel and Comedy Central roast projects, and appearing in the 2024 Netflix Is A Joke Festival.14The Improv. Jenn Sterger