NEW YORK — Brett Favre has been fined $50,000 by the NFL for a “failure to cooperate” with the investigation into allegations he sent inappropriate messages and lewd photos to former New York Jets game-day hostess Jenn Sterger.

The league said Commissioner Roger Goodell “could not conclude” that Favre violated the league’s personal conduct policy based on the evidence currently available to him.

“The forensic analysis could not establish that Favre sent the objectionable photographs to Sterger,” the statement said. “The review found no evidence to contradict the statements of both Favre and Sterger that they never met in person, nor was there anything to suggest that Sterger engaged in any inappropriate conduct.”

Goodell determined Favre was “not candid in several respects during the investigation resulting in a longer review and additional negative public attention for Favre, Sterger and the NFL,” the statement said. The league’s investigation began in October and the fine was announced today.

The league said its sole focus was on whether Favre violated workplace conduct policy, not to “make judgments about the appropriateness of personal relationships.”

The league also said the investigation was limited in several respects because the matter was not brought to its attention until two years after it allegedly occurred.