Before their win over the Cowboys in the Divisional Round two weeks ago, I proposed the question of whether or not signing Brett Favre was worth it for the Vikings. Now that Minnesota has been knocked out of the playoffs and the annual Brett Favre retirement dance has begun, I’m proposing a similar question.

If Favre does decide to hang ‘em up this offseason, was signing him for one year worth it for the Vikings?

Had they lost to Dallas, I would have empathically said “no” to the above question. The Vikings won the division and reached the playoffs with Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson in 2008. So for all intents and purposes, had they lost to the Cowboys the Vikings would not have improved under Favre and therefore, his signing would have been a waste. After all, Minnesota didn’t jump over all the hurdles to sign Favre last offseason just so they could win another division title and be bounced in their first playoff game. And had he retired after a loss to Dallas, the signing would have looked even worse.

However, my stance has changed after the Vikes advanced to the NFC Championship Game because that meant they did improve with Favre under center. They weren’t knocking on the door of a Super Bowl last year with Jackson at quarterback and although we’ll never know, I highly doubt they would have reached the NFC title game with Jackson or Sage Rosenfels this season.

So yeah, the signing of Favre was worth it in my eyes. Did they sign him in hopes that he would advance them to the Super Bowl? Of course they did, but 30 teams fail to reach the Super Bowl every year and 28 of them didn’t get as far as the Vikings did this season. They knew they were a quarterback away from making a legitimate run and they did what they had to do in order to sign one of the best in the game.

But all this being said, one could still make the argument that because the Vikings failed to reach the Super Bowl, the signing of Favre was a waste. Keep in mind what he put them through last offseason in terms of making the decision about whether or not to return. Poor Jackson and Rosenfels had to field questions on a daily basis about Brett, all the while trying to compete for a job that may or may not have been available when the season started. Brad Childress essentially had to alienate the quarterbacks that were already on his roster in order to appease a veteran quarterback that he may or may not have the opportunity to coach. Then when Favre did sign, the Vikings still had to worry about what kind of an effect he would have on team chemistry and in the locker room.

In the end, the Vikings didn’t accomplish their goal of making it to the Super Bowl. If Favre retires, was everything they went through in the offseason worth it? Before you answer, keep in mind that if Favre doesn’t return the Vikings now have two quarterbacks in Jackson and Rosenfels who haven’t played in a year. And one of them (Jackson) is a restricted free agent.

If Brett does decide to come back for another season, then at least the Vikings had two cracks at trying to win a Super Bowl with the same roster. But if he doesn’t, then was all of this worth it for them to lose to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game?

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