The bigger news is that this surprises anyone. Having lived through Bretts long bouts of indecisiveness for many years, I know that this is predictable behavior from someone whos a good guy but troubled by having to make decisions without a clear, apparent choice.
He would much rather have someone else, through his or her actions or words, make the decision for him.
Through all the drama about Brett over the past several years, I have never felt any sense of closure from him about playing football. He retired a year ago because he wanted the Packers to court, woo and recruit him to play another year, as they had in the past.
But he didnt get that affection from the team he felt he had put into the national consciousness.
Brett has an insecurity about him that is not logical for one of the most established players in the game. He knew how he got his job Don Majkowski was injured and how he could lose it in the blink of an eye.
Thus, his relationships with rising young backup quarterbacks were always at arms length. I saw this from afar in representing Matt Hasselbeck 10 years ago and up close in watching him and Aaron Rodgers for three seasons.