After flirting with retirement for years, Brett Favre means it this time. The Green Bay Packers quarterback quit Tuesday after a 17-season career in which he dazzled fans with his grit, heart and rocket of an arm.

"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre, a three-time NFL MVP, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen in a voice mail message.

"If I felt like coming back -- and Deanna [his wife] and I talked about this -- the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl. To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful," Favre said in the message.

"I know it shouldn't feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl. And honestly, the odds of that, they're tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn't up for. "

Packers coach Mike McCarthy told Mortensen that Favre had called him Monday night to tell him his decision. He also said Favre had first mentioned the possibility of retiring on Thursday.

"He called me last night to tell me he'd thought this thing through, and he said, 'Well, you know how it is,' and 'I'm just tired and I just think it's time,'" McCarthy said.

"And I did tell him last Thursday when he mentioned retirement for the first time, I told him while we talked that he did have to trust his heart."