His final major case involved Brett Favre, Jenn Sterger and some allegedly lewd camera phone pictures that the future Hall of Fame quarterback texted.

Surely, Milt Ahlerich will think about much more in retirement than the bizarre case that blew up this last season after Deadspin published the photos. Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that Ahlerich is retiring after 15 years as the vice president of security of the NFL. Previously, he worked for the FBI for 25 years.

Ahlerich had reportedly planned to retire in 2011, and the high-profile Favre case didn’t drive him out the door. The league will now have to search for a replacement for a unit that has an annual budget of more than $12 million. The league has always worked closely with the FBI and retired FBI types have always found second careers in the league office and with teams, which employ their own security experts.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune