Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears (where he set several career passing records, including lowest single-season and career interception rates[1]), before being selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, spending 18 seasons with the team.[2] He is regarded among the greatest[3] and most talented quarterbacks of all time.[4]
For the Australian rules footballer, see Aaron Rogers.No. 8 – New York Jets
December 2, 1983
Chico, California, U.S.
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
223 lb (101 kg)
Pleasant Valley
(Chico, California)
- Butte CC (2002)
- California (2003–2004)
2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24
Active
7,661
7,661
5,001
65.3%
475–105
59,055
103.6
3,466
35
After backing up Brett Favre for the first three years of his NFL career, Rodgers became the Packers' starting quarterback in 2008. In the 2010 season, he led them to a victory in Super Bowl XLV, earning the Super Bowl MVP. He was named Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 2011,[5] and was voted league MVP by the Associated Press for the 2011, 2014, 2020, and 2021 NFL seasons. Rodgers is the fifth player to win NFL MVP in consecutive seasons, joining Peyton Manning, Favre, Joe Montana and Jim Brown. Rodgers has led the NFL six times in touchdown-to-interception ratio (2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021);[6] six times in lowest passing interception percentage (2009, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021);[7] four times in passer rating (2011, 2012, 2020, 2021);[8] and four times in touchdown passing percentage (2011, 2012, 2020, 2021);[9] three times in total touchdowns (2011, 2016, 2020); twice in touchdown passes (2016, 2020)[10] and once in yards per attempt (2011) and completion percentage (2020).[11]
Rodgers is first on the NFL's all-time regular-season career passer rating list, with a regular-season career passer rating of over 100 (the first to ever have a career rating over 100) while also having had the highest passer rating, the best touchdown-to-interception ratio and the lowest passing interception percentage in NFL history throughout the entire 2010s decade. In the postseason, he is second in both touchdown passes and touchdown-to-interception ratio, fourth in passing yards, and fifth in all-time passer rating. In the regular season, he has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in NFL history at 4.52,[12] holds the league's lowest career interception percentage at 1.4 percent[13] and the highest single-season passer rating record of 122.5.[14] Rodgers is also a four-time winner of the Best NFL Player ESPY Award.
Early life
Rodgers was born on December 2, 1983, in Chico, California,[15] the son of Darla Leigh (née Pittman) and Edward Wesley Rodgers. His father is a Texas-born chiropractor who played football as an offensive lineman for the Chico State Wildcats from 1973 to 1976.[16][17] Rodgers is of English, Irish and German ancestry.[16] The family moved to Ukiah, California, where he attended Oak Manor Elementary School.[18] Edward Rodgers tossed a football with his sons Luke, Aaron and Jordan Rodgers, and told them not to drink and not to party in college or they would limit themselves in sports like he did. Aaron took this advice to heart.[17] At the age of ten, he was featured on the front page of the Ukiah Daily Journal for his top performance at a local basketball free throw competition.[18]
Later, the family moved to Beaverton, Oregon, where Rodgers attended Vose Elementary School and Whitford Middle School, and played baseball in the Raleigh Hills Little League at shortstop, center field and pitcher.[19]
The Rodgers family returned to Chico in 1997, and Aaron attended Pleasant Valley High School, starting for two years at quarterback and garnering 4,421 passing yards.[20] He set single-game records of six touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards. Rodgers set a single-season school record with 2,466 total yards in 2001. He graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in spring 2002, after scoring 1310 in the SAT and with an A− average.[21][22][23]
Professional career
2005 NFL Draft
Rodgers was expected to be selected early in the 2005 NFL Draft as he had posted impressive numbers as a junior with Cal, throwing for 2,320 yards with a 67.5 completion rate in the regular season. He threw for 24 touchdowns and only eight interceptions in his last college season, impressing many NFL scouts. They commented that he was a "talented strong-armed junior"[47] who "combines arm strength, mechanics and delivery to make all the throws", but noted that his stats could be inflated due to playing in a quarterback-friendly system and that he would need to adjust to the more elaborate defensive schemes of the NFL.[47]
Touchdown celebration
Since becoming a starter in 2008, Rodgers has become known for his unique touchdown celebration, which he and his teammates have dubbed the "Championship Belt." After a scoring play, Rodgers celebrates by making a motion as if he is putting an invisible championship belt on around his waist.[400][401] Teammate Greg Jennings said of the celebration: "It's just something fun that he does. We get excited when we see it cause we know that he's made a play or we've made a play as offense."[402] The gesture drew the praise of WWE wrestler Triple H and has become common for Green Bay fans to mimic during games.[403] He has also celebrated by doing the shoryuken, a jumping uppercut move from the Street Fighter series.[404]
Political and social commentary
Rodgers has voiced support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his presidential campaign of 2024.[452] Kennedy has reportedly included Rodgers on his "short list" of possible vice presidential running mates, along with others, including Jesse Ventura and Nicole Shanahan.[453][454]
On Adam Breneman's podcast in 2022, former Packers backup quarterback DeShone Kizer said that Rodgers had expressed interest in 9/11 conspiracy theories at one of the first meetings between the two quarterbacks. Kizer described their discussion of conspiracy theories as "a real thought experiment".[455][456] Rodgers has also promoted the Tartarian architecture conspiracy theory.[457]
In a January 2024 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers, without evidence, implied that comedian Jimmy Kimmel was an acquaintance of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that Kimmel's name would possibly appear in soon to be released court documents listing Epstein's associates.[458] Kimmel denied the allegations and threatened to sue Rodgers for defamation if he repeated the claim.[459] In a follow-up appearance on McAfee's show the following week, Rodgers stated: "I'm glad that Jimmy is not on the list. I really am. I don't think he's the P-word [pedophile]. I think it's impressive that a man who went to Arizona State and has 10 joke writers can read off a prompter."[460]
During a February 2024 appearance on the conspiracy-focused Look Into It podcast hosted by Eddie Bravo, Rodgers espoused numerous conspiracy theories on medicine, immigration, and John F. Kennedy.[461] His claims included that AIDS and COVID were created by the government for the sake of pharmaceutical industry profits (see also discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories and Operation Denver).[462]
In 2024, CNN reporter Pamela Brown reported that Rodgers had in 2013 shared false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook massacre, claiming that the attack was an "inside job" perpetrated by the government. CNN simultaneously reported an allegation by an anonymous source that Rodgers had several years prior said "Sandy Hook never happened....All those children never existed. They were all actors."[463] In response, Rodgers said, "I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place" but did not say whether he had ever believed the Sandy Hook massacre was an "inside job."[452]
Personal life
Family and relationships
Rodgers has two brothers; the younger, Jordan, played quarterback at Vanderbilt University and had a brief NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[464][465][466] Although Rodgers and his brothers were raised Christian, in an interview in 2017 he stated that he no longer affiliated himself with any organized religion.[467]
Rodgers is the godfather to Cade Cobb, the second son of his long-time NFL teammate, Randall Cobb.[468]
Rodgers was in a relationship with actress Olivia Munn from 2014 to 2017 and with former professional racing driver Danica Patrick from 2018 to 2020.[469][470][471] He started dating actress Shailene Woodley in the second half of 2020.[472] In an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2021, Woodley confirmed that she was engaged to Rodgers.[473] On February 16, 2022, Rodgers and Woodley called off their engagement.[474]
Honorary memberships and business ventures
Rodgers was initiated as an honorary member of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) on January 5, 2012, at the Sigma-Xi Chapter at St. Norbert College.[475]
In April 2018, Rodgers was announced as a limited partner in the Milwaukee Bucks ownership group, making him the first active NFL player with an ownership stake in an NBA franchise.[476]
Media appearances
Rodgers was a longtime spokesperson for State Farm Insurance and was frequently featured in their commercials. In the commercials, Rodgers often highlights his "Championship Belt" touchdown celebration, which State Farm renamed as the "Discount Double Check".[477] Rodgers has also been featured in Pizza Hut advertisements,[478] as well as numerous local Wisconsin-based advertisements.[479]
In May 2015, Rodgers appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy!; he defeated Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary and astronaut and future United States Senator Mark Kelly, winning $50,000 for his charity. In April 2021, Rodgers had a two-week stint as guest host on Jeopardy! from April 5–16.[480][481]
Rodgers has also made numerous cameo appearances on television, including in a 2013 episode of The Office, a 2019 episode of Game of Thrones, and a 2015 episode of the sketch comedy television series Key & Peele.[482][483][484] He also taped a cameo as Jeopardy! host for an episode of The Conners.[485]
In 2021, Rodgers took part in The Match IV, which was the fourth installment in the exhibition match play golf series. He was paired with professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau. The team went up against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady.[486] DeChambeau and Rodgers won the match 3 and 2.[487] Rodgers also took part in the sixth edition of The Match, where he teamed up with Brady against fellow quarterbacks Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.[488] Rodgers and Brady defeated Mahomes and Allen 1 up.[489]
Humanitarian and charitable efforts
Rodgers is the founder, and the co-creator, along with David Gruber, of itsAaron,[490] a charity with a mission of "creating awareness for organizations and people who are changing the world".[491][492]
He is also a supporter of the MACC Fund,[493][494] Raise Hope for Congo,[495] and other humanitarian and charitable efforts.[496][497]
Rodgers' Celebrity Jeopardy! win earned $50,000 for the MACC Fund.[498][499] During his 2021 appearance as Jeopardy! guest host, the show made a charitable donation equal to the cumulative winnings of the contestants (including the runners-up) for those ten shows.[481]
Rodgers is a supporter of his alma mater, University of California, Berkeley. He has donated funds to renovate the athletic facilities[500] and also established an endowed scholarship for transfer students at the school. In 2021, he was honored by the school for his charitable work.[501]
In 2021, Rodgers donated $1 million to help small businesses in Chico and Butte County, California.[502]