Brett Favre says Colin Kaepernick's willingness to leave his NFL career to fight for social justice reminds him of Pat Tillman's ultimate sacrifice ... and now, he's telling TMZ Sports he thinks both will be remembered as heroes.
The Hall of Fame QB spoke with us about Colin this week ... and told us straight-up he believes Kaepernick will go down as a legend for what he's done to combat systemic racism.
"It's not easy for a guy his age -- black or white, Hispanic, whatever -- to stop something that you've always dreamed of doing, and put it on hold, maybe forever, for something that you believe in," Favre said.