Aaron Rodgers is one of the veterans of NFL who has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks to have graced the game. He joined the New York Jets in 2023 after 18 glorious seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers was a prominent member of the Packers’ team ever since he was drafted in 2005. In his 19-year NFL career he has won 3 NFL Most Valuable Player awards, 3 All-Pro selections, 9 Pro Bowl selections, and the 2011 Bert Bell Award (Player of the Year) to his name. Rodgers also holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with a passer rating of over 100.0.
Aaron Rodgers Early Life
Rodgers was born in Chico, California on December 2, 1983. He was deeply into football from an early age and set a variety of passing records for Pleasant Valley High School in California. Rodgers did not make it to a Division I college and enrolled at Butte College. During his one year at Butte, Rodgers led the school to a 10-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking. He was also named his conference’s MVP. This caught the eye of the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the college as the team’s starter. He entered the NFL draft during his final year at Berkeley.
Aaron Rodgers NFL Draft
Rodgers was drafted in Round 1 of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was the overall 24th pick of the draft. Although Rodgers believed he would be taken first overall by the San Francisco 49ers, the 49ers selected quarterback Alex Smith. Rodgers was passed on by teams with other positional needs until he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.
Aaron Rodgers NFL Journey
Like most top-round NFL draft picks, Aaron Rodgers had a college career that attracted the scouts of the NFL teams. However, when Rodgers graduated high school, there wasn’t a sense that teams were looking at a future NFL superstar. This is because the teenage Rodgers wasn’t part of a university during his junior year. He received an offer from Illinois, albeit it was a walk-on and not a scholarship. Given his status as a walk-on, Rodgers did not move to the east. Instead, he considered becoming a lawyer. However, in college, he continued to play football, which paved the way for his incredible journey, culminating in his eventual bow in the big time.
After joining the Packers, Aaron Rodgers was a backup quarterback to Brett Favre for his first two seasons. He became the Packer’s starting quarterback in the 2008 season. In 2010, he earned the Super Bowl MVP as he led the Packers to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Rodgers was awarded a six-year, $65 million contract extension, and in 2009 his stellar passing continued as he threw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading the Packers to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. He is the only NFL player ever who in his first two years as a starter was able to achieve consecutive 4,000-yard passing campaigns.
In 2021 Aaron Rodgers faced criticism as he allegedly lied about his Covid-19 vaccination status. He maintains an anti-vaccination stand which spouts many false theories and beliefs.
After indications that Rodgers was set to leave the Packers before the start of the 2022 season, he signed another contract extension to keep him in the team for 4 more years. He signed a contract worth $200 million, which was set to pay him $50 million per season.
Before the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, Aaron Rodgers suggested that he would like a move to the New York Jets. The trade deal was completed on 26 April, 2023. Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets, along with first and fifth-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, in exchange for first, second and sixth-round selections in the 2023 draft and a conditional second-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.