But the 55-year-old and his 54-year-old wife Jeannette decided to keep it.
Actually, the couple from Racine didn't even realize it wasn't green and gold.
"I picked it up, wrapped it and never even noticed," said Joe Braun, who said he bought it at JC Penney. "She opened it on Christmas morning. She put it on and our son noticed it was wrong."
Their son urged them to keep it in case it was worth something someday.
So they did and Jeannette Braun has wore the Jets jersey, which is mostly green with white lettering and numbers, to Lambeau Field.
"We have season tickets," Jeannette Braun said. "We go to about three games a year, and no one ever even mentioned it."
The Brauns daughter, Lisa Fiorita, wore the jersey to work last Friday. She said she got mixed reactions from her co-workers. Fiorita said someone offered her $500 for the jersey, but the family plans to keep their Favre misprint.
"He got us to a Super Bowl," Jeannette Braun said of Favre. "We're really going to miss him."
Joe Braun jokes that he can see the future.
"I knew he was going to play for the Jets someday," he said.
