Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary that delves deep into the controversial career and legacy of retired National Football League (NFL) quarterback Brett Favre, Netflix’s ‘Untold: The Fall of Favre’ breaks all bounds. That’s because it spans everything from his slow start to his iconic years with the Green Bay Packers and from his multiple retirement announcements to his sexting and welfare funds scandals. It thus comes as no surprise that Jennifer “Jenn” Sterger is a key feature in this original production since she is one of the few women the athlete had allegedly made unwanted advances towards.
Jenn Sterger Was Just a College Girl When She Unexpectedly Found Herself in the Limelight
Born on November 29, 1983, into a loving and loud Miami, Florida, household that was deeply passionate about local sports, Jennifer “Jenn” Lynette Sterger was admittedly always a big fan of football. However, because she naturally gravitated towards more creative outlets for herself, she believed her calling was to be an entertainer because she not only had the skills but also the zeal for it. Her parents weren’t really supportive of this idea, though, as they didn’t think it had scope or sustainability in the long run, driving the young Gaither High School graduate to ultimately move on.
Jenn actually enrolled at the University of South Florida in 2002 for an Associate’s degree, but she transferred to Florida State two years later to pursue a Bachelor’s in criminology and psychology. It was here that her entire world turned upside down on September 5, 2005, while she was just in the stands enjoying the Florida State Seminoles versus Miami Hurricanes rivalry football game. The match was being televised on ABC, but no one could have ever imagined that she and her friend CJ Perry would suddenly catch the attention of the nation for wearing rather skimpy clothes.
Jenn had been bartending all day at a tailgating event, so after someone mistakenly spilled beer down her shirt, she simply decided to go on with her plans in the bathing suit top she’d been wearing underneath. She had no idea this, combined with her cowboy hat and cameras cutting to her group a few times, would lead a commentator to say, “1,500 red-blooded Americans just decided to apply to Florida State.” This then got picked up as news, following which she decided to make the most of it by essentially taking it to the next level, becoming locally known as an FSU Cowgirl, and soon even taking up public appearances/modeling contracts.
Jenn Sterger Gradually Evolved From a Student to a Model to a Journalist and Host
Following Jenn’s appearance on television, she essentially went viral before going viral was even a thing, resulting in her getting a lot of traction across MySpace, Facebook, and mainstream media. That’s how big-name entertainment platforms such as Maxim as well as Playboy found her, which led her to dabble in a bit of modeling before evolving into a spokesperson for Dr. Pepper. The young woman honestly played the game to establish a full-time career in entertainment, and it worked wonders for her as she joined Sports Illustrated as a Host and Staff Writer upon graduation.
As if that’s not enough, Jenn later also served at Intersport and Versus as a Television Host, by which point she had already been featured on E!’s ‘Byte Me: 20 Hottest Women of the Web’ as #19. The latter actually premiered in March 2008, shortly following which, in August, the then-25-year-old was hired by the New York Jets NFL team to be their “Gameday Host” for the season. According to her own accounts, this opportunity was exhilarating yet scary, considering she would be surrounded by rowdy fans at every step of the way, but she did have a great time, until she didn’t.
Brett Favre Allegedly Made Some Unwanted Advances Towards Jenn Sterger
As per Jenn’s statements, she was working in a stadium tunnel when she caught the eye of Jets quarterback Brett Favre, reportedly driving him to ask a staffer for her number despite being married. She asserts she never gave anyone permission to share her information, but he still managed to get it, which led to him sending her various inappropriate texts and voicemails over the season. Hence, of course, she got increasingly uncomfortable with the situation as well as the job itself, especially since all her complaints and reports were allegedly falling on deaf ears with zero consequences.
Jenn has since also claimed that the athlete went as far as to send her an unsolicited picture of his genitals, but she never really responded, and her contract wasn’t renewed for the following year. The truth is she herself didn’t make these accusations public, nor did she ever want to – a comment she had made in passing to Deadspin Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief had him recognizing the situation. Not long after, in October 2010, they published the story with leaked evidence – to this day, Jenn asserts she has no idea who hacked into her devices to get all the messages and take screenshots. However, the Editor-in-Chief did once concede that they had paid a third party for the leaked evidence.
Jenn Sterger is Still a Part of the Entertainment Industry, Yet in a Different Manner
When the story about the inappropriate advances was made public, Jenn was working at Versus and hosting a show by the name of ‘The Daily Line,’ only for it to be canceled a mere 25 days later. She then admittedly became a topic of conversation across every form of media all over again, but this time, she believes she was not even given the slightest grace of being “treated like a person.“I think one of the reasons why it’s so hard for people to have any empathy for me on the internet is because I’m just a picture to them,” she candidly said in the documentary. “And he was Brett Favre.”
The strangest part for Jenn, though, is that she and Brett have never once met in real life or had a conversation on the phone or otherwise, let alone have any sort of personal rapport/relationship. Nevertheless, when she realized she would essentially have to kickstart her career all over again while he faced no consequences for his alleged actions, she just decided to do what was needed with her head held high. In May 2011, she joined the men’s lifestyle website BroBible as a Host and Writer before moving on to Spike TV just a few months later to host a show called ‘Spare Time.’ Then, in February 2012, she joined AOL in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area to host ‘Sports Without Balls,’ only to soon relocate to Los Angeles, California, for good to pursue a career as an actor.
Here, apart from auditioning, working hard, as well as landing roles in productions such as ‘Out of the Bag,’ ‘iFlirt,’ ‘WeHos,’ and more, Jenn actually continued serving as a professional host too. She was employed by OraTV from November 2013 to September 2019, before she switched gears to expand her wings as a Correspondent for All Elite Wrestling and On Air Talent at Entercom. She parted ways from these positions in September 2020 and January 2022, respectively, but by this point, she had already managed to establish herself as a Stand-up Comedian as well as a Stand-up Writer. As if that’s not enough, since then, Jenn has even evolved into a Voice-over Artist and a Podcast Host – she currently hosts a podcast by the name of ‘Not Today’ alongside Eddie Pence.
Jenn Sterger is Thriving Both Personally and Professionally
While it’s true that Jenn has experienced many ups and downs in her career, she seems perfectly content with where she stands today as an Actress, Comedian, Podcast Host, and Voice-over Artist. In fact, she currently has over 17 acting credits, 2 writer credits, 1 producer credit, and one active podcast, which keeps her rather busy, right along with her live stand-up shows. Whether it be The Comedy Store, Netflix is a Joke, the Laugh Factory, or Hollywood Improv, this Pretty Funny Women-signed comic and writer for the upcoming film ‘The Push for Permission’ has performed everywhere. She has even done or partaken in her fair share of tours over the years, all of which openly support other female artists – most recently, she did a tour with Buzzfeed-famed Kristin Chirico.
Coming to Jenn’s personal standing, the self-described professional tomboy, nerd, as well as fitness enthusiast, is a proud Animal Advocate too. Apart from helping run an animal rescue center in the Los Angeles area for the past few years, she is also dedicated to raising awareness about adopting and rescuing pets rather than shopping for them. She reportedly herself has 4 pets as of writing, all of whom she rescued, including an adorable little chiweenie dog named Kevin. Furthermore, we should mention that Jenn is actually a divorcee who parted ways with her husband, baseball player Cody Decker, in 2023 after 5 years of marriage. Yet, she hasn’t given up on love or finding her forever partner, because her support system, in the form of her family and friends, has shown her that she deserves the world. She is particularly close to her grandmother, whom she lovingly calls Mommom, and actress Anna Akana. Honestly, we wish Jenn nothing but all the happiness in the world for years to come.
