Brett Favre on Thursday told the NFL Network he will not play next season.

In an interview with the network, Favre was asked directly, â€œAre you coming back in 2011?â€ Favre hesitated for a second, broke into a small grin, then shook his head and answered, â€œNo.â€

Favre, 41, has announced his intention to retire numerous times, only to return to play. This year, he said his Vikings teammates had to convince him to come back, and when he arrived in August he said that this would be his last season.

The results so far have not been good: Favre has battled physical problems and seen the locker room engulfed in constant drama. Minnesota is 3-5 heading into Sundayâ€™s game against the Bears.

Favre also is awaiting a decision from the NFL regarding his alleged behavior toward a female former Jets employee, Jenn Sterger. Favre allegedly sent Sterger lewd photographs and inappropriate text messages.

Sterger met with league officials Thursday. Stergerâ€™s manager, Phil Reese, told reporters his client turned over â€œsubstantialâ€ materials related to the case.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday told the NFL Network he wonâ€™t act quickly

"I'm never pushed much by timelines. I think what you have to do is be fair, you have to try to get all the facts, and make a smart decision," Goodell said. "I think what we need to do here is make sure we have all those facts from as many different sources as we can. I'll get an update [Friday]. "

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.