In his 20-year NFL run, Brett Favre faced plenty of defensive nightmares. Think of Warren Sapp, Derrick Thomas, Deion Sanders, you name it. But if you ask him about his own favorite teammate, he won’t point to a star receiver or a workhorse running back. He’ll go straight to his former defensive end: the late Reggie White. And you can tell why.

Reggie may have lined up on the defensive side, but he was still one of the best players Favre ever went up against in practice or played with. And what stood out to Favre even more was the person underneath the helmet. The human side. The one who helped everyone around him without thinking twice, whether through biblical perception or some soft-spoken words of wisdom. And on his podcast, 4th and Favre, the Green Bay Packers legend recently opened up about exactly that.

“Reggie was a minister. He was known as a minister of defense. But he didn’t walk around just constantly preaching to everyone,” Favre said when asked whether Reggie lived what he preached. “But he did pre-practice what he preached. He didn’t curse. He was very soft-spoken. He would offer, like if you said, ‘Big dawg, I’m struggling with the word or with this or with that.’ He would say, ‘Hey, sit down. Let’s talk about it.'”

From the beginning, Reggie White wanted to be two things: A football player and a minister. On the field, he was one of the most dominant defensive ends ever. And on the other side, he was a public minister off the field. For which they gave him the title of “The Minister of Defense.” He was an ordained Christian who preached, led Bible studies, and made his faith a central, visible part of his life.

And the Packers legend didn’t just preach either. He put real money and sweat into it. He co-founded Urban Hope Ministries, backed community-development projects, and even helped fund business loans so people could start their own ventures. And when it came to the guys in his own locker room, Brett Favre just made it clear that Reggie carried that same energy there, too.

“He was always there, mentoring either from a biblical perspective or just, you know, I’ve lived this for, you know, for example, maybe someone’s like struggling with football or with daily life things. You could go to Reggie, and he would definitely, when you got done talking to him, you felt completely 100% better,” Favre added.

Favre and Reggie shared the field in Green Bay from 1993 to 1998, a stretch that included their Super Bowl run in the 1996 season. Sadly, Reggie passed away just a few years after retiring, on December 26, 2004. But even two decades later, his legacy hasn’t faded. Favre still talks about him with the same respect and warmth. And everyone close to Reggie remembers exactly who he was. Because his impact was beyond the NFL.

Brett Favre talked about Reggie White’s final wish

Reggie White spent 15 seasons in the NFL, first terrorizing quarterbacks in Philadelphia and then anchoring Green Bay’s defense. After a short stop in Carolina, the Packers legend walked away from the game as the NFL’s all-time sack leader with 198, holding the record until Bruce Smith eventually passed him.

But retirement didn’t slow him down. Even after stepping away from football, Reggie wasn’t done competing or creating. He started exploring other sports, and one of the unexpected places he landed was NASCAR.

“Reggie was, I think, 42. He was very young,” Favre said. “He and I stayed in constant contact. Like the week before he died, we had a conversation, and he was telling me, he had been retired maybe a year, and he said, ‘You’re not going to believe what I’m getting into.’ And I was like, ‘What big dawg?’ He said I’m getting in NASCAR. I’m like, if anybody can get in NASCAR, it’s Reggie White.” Indeed!

In 2003, just before his passing, White partnered with Joe Gibbs Racing to form a late-model stock car program aimed at increasing minority participation in NASCAR. The program was described as a driver-development initiative targeted at minority drivers and crew members, with White saying he “fell in love” with racing and wanted to give opportunities to grassroots participants.

Though White passed away not long after launching the project, the impact didn’t disappear with him. One of the clearest examples was Aric Almirola, one of the original members of White’s driver-development program. Almirola later openly credited Reggie for his NASCAR career.

“I came through the diversity program,” Almirola said a few years back. “I would not have the opportunity to be sitting here in front of you today if it wasn’t for Reggie White, a black NFL football player who decided to put together a diversity program with Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing. That’s how I got my opportunity.

“…Reggie, the very first time I met him, he said, ‘The reason I’m doing this is I love racecars, I love cars, I love watching racing. Coming with Coach to watch a few of these NASCAR races, I fell in love. I want to start a team and give a driver, drivers, crew members an opportunity from the grassroots level to work their way into the system.’ That’s exactly how I got my opportunity.”

So, in the end, White didn’t just shape the NFL. He took that same drive, that same purpose, and left a mark on NASCAR, too. His influence outlived him, carrying forward in the careers he helped launch. And that’s a legacy that doesn’t fade.