Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Brett Favre will be reinstated to the Green Bay Packers' roster today and may be allowed to compete for the starting quarterback position that he held for 16 years.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ``will reinstate Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers' active roster'' today, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail yesterday, ending almost five months of retirement from the National Football League. On July 29, the quarterback sent a formal request for reinstatement to the league.

``It's very difficult to reorient our plans and cross it again in the opposite direction -- but we'll put this to our advantage,'' Packers President Mark Murphy said yesterday on the team's Web site. ``Although there has been uncertainty regarding Brett's return, Ted Thompson and coach McCarthy had previously discussed this and have had a plan in place.''

Mike McCarthy and General Manager Thompson will unveil their plan after meeting with Favre and the team today, Murphy said. The Packers may have reconsidered their decision to start Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and instead allow Favre to compete for it, ESPN reported, citing people it didn't name.

``With him coming back, if they do open it up to a competition, I get a chance to compete, and that's all I can hope for,'' Rodgers said last night in televised interview.

Goodell waited almost a week to act on Favre's reinstatement request to give him and the Packers time to resolve their differences about the three-time Most Valuable Player's future. After announcing his retirement in March, the 38-year-old Favre told the Packers last month that he wanted to play football again.

`Very Difficult Spot'

By reinstating Favre, the Packers have the option to either make a roster move and add him to the team, trade him, or complete negotiations on an agreement to keep him retired.

``We will welcome him back and turn this situation to our advantage,'' Murphy said. ``Brett's change of mind put us in a very difficult spot. We now will revise many actions and assumptions about our long-term future, all predicated on Brett's decision last March to retire.''

Following his retirement, the Packers said they were ``100 percent committed'' to starting Rodgers at quarterback. The 24- year-old has played in seven games for Green Bay since being drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft, completing 35 of 59 passing attempts for 329 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Favre last month asked to either be traded, allowed to compete for his job in Green Bay or released from his contract.

Rejected Offer

Intent on playing, Favre was reluctant to accept Green Bay's offer of a marketing deal worth up to $25 million over 10 years if he agrees to remain retired, ESPN said, citing a person it didn't name.

During his 16 seasons in Green Bay, Favre set NFL records for passes, passing yards, touchdowns and consecutive starts by a quarterback. On March 7, he bid a tearful goodbye to the NFL.

The Kiln, Mississippi, native completed 5,377 passes for 61,655 yards, and threw 442 touchdowns and 288 interceptions, all NFL records.

He was selected to nine Pro Bowls and holds the mark for wins by a starting quarterback, with 160. He also started 253 straight regular-season games, a record for NFL quarterbacks.

Green Bay hosts Cincinnati in its first pre-season game on Aug. 11. The Packers open the regular season Sept. 8, when they hosts division-rival Minnesota.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 4, 2008 00:01 EDT