Brett Favre is already taking steps to return $1.1 MILLION in payments he received from the state of Mississippi ... claiming he had NO IDEA the cash was coming from a welfare program.
The backstory is bizarre ... officials claim the Mississippi Dept. of Human Services handed out $98 MILLION in welfare funds to 2 non-profit orgs., which were supposed to us the money to help the poor.
Instead, officials say several crooked people in those groups spent MILLIONS on things like concert tickets, football games, lobbyists and more.
Officials say $1.1 million was paid to Favre to deliver speeches in 2017 and 2018 -- but Favre never actually performed.