the station". Favre, meanwhile, expressed frustration with Thompson regarding hiring and personnel decisions stating that he was only "guilty of retiring early". As a result, on July 11, 2008, Favre asked for his unconditional release from the Green Bay Packers. Thompson had repeatedly stated that the team would not release him and at the time were engaged in a standoff with Favre that could have ended with Favre taking up to a $25 million buyout to remain retired and participate in a marketing and merchandising role with the team. On August 6, 2008, Thompson and Favre agreed on a trade and he was sent to the New York Jets for a conditional 4th round pick. The pick was to become a third-round pick if Favre took the majority of the team's snaps at quarterback, a second-round pick if he took 70 percent of the snaps and the team made the playoffs, and a first-round pick if Favre took 80 percent of the snaps at quarterback and the Jets reached Super Bowl XLIII. The Jets failed to make the playoffs but Favre took the majority of the team's snaps; so the 4th round pick became a 3rd round pick. Favre made the AFC Pro Bowl and led the Jets to a 9–7 record, while the Packers fell to 6–10 including losing 5 of their last 6 games of the season. Besides the obvious controversy concerning the Brett Favre unretirement and trade, Thompson was considerably criticized by his decision in the 2008 offseason to waive punter Jon Ryan. After an excellent season, Thompson chose to waive the punter. The punter was quickly picked up by Seattle and had another impressive season while the Packers filtered though punters Derrick Frost and Jeremy Kapinos. Ultimately the loss of a good punter contributed to several momentum shifts during games due to poor punts aiding the Packers in achieving a 6–10 season. 2009 In the 2009 offseason, Thompson continued to uphold his philosophy to build through the draft, selecting NT B. J. Raji with the 9th overall pick. and then trading several picks to move up and select OLB Clay Matthews with the 26th overall pick. Later picks include eventual starters OG T.J. Lang, DE Jarius Wynn, and OLB Brad Jones. Raji, Matthews, and Jones made an immediate impact and all wound up as starters their rookie year. Matthews, Raji, and Lang have developed into Pro