The Green Bay Packers are wasting little time finding a way to show Brett Favre some love.

Mark Murphy, the team's president and CEO, said today that the team will retire Favre's No. 4 sometime this coming season.

"Our plan and his is to retire his number sometime this season," said Murphy. "And we will make a decision after the schedule comes out."

Murphy, who said he spoke with Favre about the matter, stressed that any plans are preliminary, with many details yet to be worked out.

"Our initial thought is to retire his number during a game. But what more might be entailed will be worked out," he said.

Favre officially retired on March 4 and there was no doubt the Packers planned on retiring his number.

In an interview today, Murphy and Craig Benzel, the team's director of marketing and corporate sales, reflected on the post-Favre era, especially in terms of the team's marketing mission.

While Favre's retirement announcement was a surprise, it was not a shock to the organization. Team officials knew it would come someday.

"In terms of the business and the marketing, obviously Brett has been very important to this organization," Murphy said. "What he has meant to the Packers and the NFL has been so significant. This day was going to come. But I think our marketing strategies have never been based on one person. It's more than that. But Brett will always be an important part of the Packers."

"We never sold sponsorships based on wins and losses or based on one person," added Benzel. "When you talk about any changes that need to be made, I think because of how we have handled our business before and after Brett Favre, there is that consistency that doesn't make you say all of a sudden, when he retires, that you have to change things immediately.

"Our partnerships really are about businesses aligning themselves with a unique business and brand. And meeting their marketing needs beyond that."

Both Murphy and Benzel said the loss of Favre did not necessarily mean the Packers would take a financial hit in the years ahead. The team's fiscal year ends March 31, and the Packers are expected to report to shareholders that the team had a solid financial performance.

"A lot of it depends on how the season plays out," Murphy said of the team's financial performance without Favre. "We obviously will sell a lot of Favre jerseys. There's that aspect, too."

Benzel said Favre's connection to the franchise changes from being an existing player to a living legend.

"That's the part that changes," Benzel said. "I'm not sure the business changes."

While Favre can't be replaced, Murphy said there continued to be strong interest in the team. "I feel very confident and the main reason is the combination of Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy," he said. "We are really set well for the future. There is a lot of excitement about the team this year and, to be honest, a lot of curiosity about what it's going to look like with Aaron Rodgers under center."

In league meetings, team owners told Murphy that the way Favre handled his retirement reflected well on the franchise.

"You don't see this in professional sports," Murphy said. "The kind of relationship Brett had with the team and the community, and to have that career in one place and to be able to leave on his own terms at the height of his game, I'm really happy for him."

That kind of exit, he added, "separates him from almost every other football player. . . . But the way Brett left cements his place in history."

And now the Packers will move on without their star quarterback.