Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers was selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers. Rodgers played college football while attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he set several California Golden Bears records, including lowest interception rate at 1.43%.

Professionally, Rodgers is the NFL's all-time career leader in passer rating during both the regular season (103.8), and in the post-season (112.6) – among passers with at least 1,500 and 150 pass attempts respectively. He also owns the league's lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks during the regular season (1.82%).

Early years
Rodgers was born in Chico in Butte County, California. He attended Vose Elementary School and Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon, playing baseball in the Raleigh Hills Little League at the positions of shortstop, center field and pitcher. He returned to Chico in 1997 and attended Pleasant Valley High School, starting for two years at quarterback and garnering 4,421 passing yards. He set single-game records of 6 touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards. Rodgers also set a single-season record with 2,466 total yards in 2001 and graduated in the spring of 2002.

2002
Despite his record-setting statistics, he garnered little interest from Division I programs, with only an offer to compete for a scholarship as a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football to study toward law school. He was then recruited to play football at Butte Community College in Oroville, a local junior college about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico. In his freshman season Rodgers threw 26 touchdowns while leading Butte to a 10–1 record, the NorCal Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking. While there, Rodgers was discovered by the Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, who was recruiting Butte tight end Garrett Cross. Tedford was very surprised to learn that Rodgers had not been recruited out of high school. Because he had a 3.6 grade point average and SAT score of 1300 when he left high school, Rodgers was eligible to transfer after one year of junior college instead of the typical two.

2003
As a junior college transfer, Rodgers had three years of eligibility at Cal. He was named the starting quarterback in the fifth game of the 2003 season, coincidentally against the only team that offered him a Division I opportunity out of high school, Illinois. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Golden Bears to a 7–3 record as a starter. Against the then-No. 3 ranked USC in his second career start, Rodgers led the team to a 21–7 halftime lead before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson. The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31. Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was named game MVP in the Insight Bowl against Virginia Tech. In 2003, Rodgers tied the school season record for 300-yard games with 5 and set a school record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.

2004
As a junior, Rodgers led Cal to a 10–1 record and top-five ranking at the end of the regular season, with their only loss coming in a closely contested and well-played game at #1 USC, 17–23. In that game, Rodgers set a school record for consecutive completed passes with 26 and tied an NCAA record with 23 consecutive passes completed in one game. Rodgers set a school single game record for passing completion, completing 85.3% of his passes in that game. Rodgers also holds the school career record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.95%. Despite these records, the Bears had 1st and goal with 1:47 remaining and could not score a winning touchdown. The game-ending sequence included three incomplete passes and a sack by USC.

After Texas was picked over Cal for a Rose Bowl berth, the fourth-ranked Bears earned a spot in the Holiday Bowl, but lost to Texas Tech, 45–31. After the season, Rodgers decided to forego his senior season (without a redshirt) to enter the 2005 NFL Draft.

College awards and honors

 * 2003 Honorable mention All-Pac-10
 * 2003 Insight Bowl Offensive MVP
 * 2004 Cal Co-Offensive MVP
 * 2004 First-team All-Pac-10
 * 2004 Second-team Academic All-Pac-10
 * 2004 Honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated

Backup seasons (2005–2007)
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 rating. He had tied an NCAA record when he completed 23 consecutive passes against the eventual national champions, USC. He threw for 24 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions in his last college season, impressing many NFL scouts. Rodgers' slip to the 24th choice by the Green Bay Packers became one of the biggest stories of the draft, though he was still the second quarterback selected. The San Francisco 49ers, who held the first overall pick, were not interested in Rodgers as then-49ers head coach Mike Nolan, a strong personality, did not believe that Rodgers' attitude could co-exist with him. The 49ers would select quarterback Alex Smith. In addition to the fact that many teams drafting between second and 23rd positions had positional needs more pressing than quarterback, Rodgers' moderate height (6'2") may have contributed to his precipitous slide.  Rodgers is one of six quarterbacks coached by Jeff Tedford to be drafted in the first round, joining Akili Smith, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, and Kyle Boller.

In August 2005 at age 21, Rodgers agreed to a reported five-year, $7.7 million deal that included $5.4 million in guaranteed money and had the potential to pay him as much as $24.5 million if all incentives and escalators were met.

Rodgers spent a disappointing 4–12 2005 season as the Packers' back-up quarterback behind Brett Favre. Rodgers had little playing time during the year, but played in a win against the New Orleans Saints and in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

When Favre decided to continue his career into the 2006 season, Rodgers was forced to continue in his role as the second quarterback on the depth chart.

On November 19, 2006, Rodgers broke his left foot against the New England Patriots in a 35–0 defeat at home while filling in for an injured Brett Favre and missed the remainder of the 2006 season. Rodgers made a full recovery and was ready for the start of the 2007 season.

Weeks after an emotional interview with NBC's Andrea Kramer following the team's season-ending victory at Chicago, Favre announced he would stay with the Packers for the 2007 season, again postponing Rodgers' hopes of becoming the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback. Prior to the 2007 season, rumors surfaced about a potential trade involving Rodgers in which he would be traded to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Randy Moss. However, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots during the second day of the 2007 NFL Draft, and Rodgers stayed in Green Bay.

Rodgers stepped in when Favre was injured in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football on November 29, 2007. Rodgers completed 18 passes for 201 yards, with no interceptions. He also threw his first touchdown pass but was sacked three times. Rodgers brought the team back from a 17 point deficit to a 3 point deficit, but the Cowboys went on to win 37–27.

2008
Brett Favre's retirement announcement on March 4, 2008, opened up the Packers' starting quarterback position to Rodgers for the 2008 season. Although Favre decided to return from retirement, he was traded to the New York Jets, meaning Rodgers would remain the starter.

With Rodgers making his debut as a starter, the Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–19 at Lambeau Field. This marked the first time since 1992 that a quarterback other than Favre started a regular season game for the Packers. Rodgers ended the game with 178 yards passing and 2 touchdowns (1 passing/1 rushing). In just his second NFL start the following week, Rodgers was voted the FedEx Air award winner after passing for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a win against the Detroit Lions. During the fourth week of the season, Rodgers streak of 157 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended when he was intercepted by Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The streak was the third longest in franchise history behind Bart Starr (294) and Brett Favre (163). Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder sprain in the game but continued to start and played well in a win against the Seattle Seahawks two weeks later, which to many proved his toughness. Despite early successes, Rodgers had been unable to win a close game during the season despite seven opportunities to do so. On October 31, 2008, Rodgers signed a six year, $65 million contract extension through the 2014 season.

2009
For the opening game of the 2009 season, Rodgers recorded his first win in a comeback situation. The Packers were trailing at the beginning of the 4th quarter when Rodgers completed a fifty yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings with about a minute remaining in the game to contribute to the 21–15 victory over the Chicago Bears. Rodgers was named National Football Conference (NFC) Offensive Player of the Month for October 2009, when he passed for 988 yards, completed 74.5 percent of his passes, and recorded a passer rating over 110 for all three games played during the month. After a mediocre 4–4 start to the season and a devastating loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team began to heat up. Rodgers led the Packers to five straight wins, in which he threw for a total of 1,324 yards, 9 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Rodgers and the Packers won two of their last three games, finishing the second half of the season with a 7–1 record and an overall 11–5 record; good enough to secure a wild card playoff berth and clinch the fifth seed in the playoffs. Rodgers also made the record books, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history ever to throw for 4,000 yards in both of his first two years as a starter. His passing yardage made him second all-time in Packers history, behind only Lynn Dickey's all-time single-season record.

In his first action as a starter in the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers's first pass was intercepted by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers settled down after that miscue, however, and finished the game 28 of 42 for 422 yards with four touchdowns. Despite Rodgers' offensive efforts, the Packers lost the game when he fumbled on the last play of the game in overtime. The ball was returned by Karlos Dansby for the winning touchdown in the 51–45 Cardinals victory. It was the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history.

Due to his regular season performance, Rodgers earned a trip to his first Pro Bowl as the NFC's third Quarterback behind Drew Brees and Brett Favre. However, after Favre dropped out due to injury and Brees was replaced due to his participation in Super Bowl XLIV, Rodgers became the NFC's starter for the game. He finished the day 15 of 19 passing with 197 yards and two touchdowns, despite the NFC losing the game.

2010
After leading his team to a 2–0 start in 2010, the Packers lost three of their next four games including back-to-back overtime losses. The two overtime defeats brought Rodgers' record in overtime games to 0–5. During Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers threw 35 passing attempts, putting him at 1,505 for his career – making him eligible for all official NFL quarterback records as recognized by the NFL. In Week 14 of the season, Rodgers sustained his second concussion of the season. Backup Matt Flynn was put into the game as Rodgers' replacement. The Packers lost the game 7–3 to the Detroit Lions. It was the Lions first division win since 2007, snapping a 19-game losing streak against division rivals. Rodgers missed the next week's regular season start ending his streak of consecutive starts at 45, which is tied for the second longest in team history. However, Rodgers turned around the team's performance, winning the final two regular season games against the New York Giants and Chicago Bears, both de-facto playoff elimination games.

With a 10–6 record, the Packers entered the NFL playoffs as the #6 seed Wild Card. Rodgers led the Packers past the top three seeds in the NFC on the road in consecutive weeks. In the Wild Card round, they defeated the #3 seeded Philadelphia Eagles 21–16. In the divisional round, Rodgers completed 31 of 36 pass attempts for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 48–21 victory over the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons. On January 23, 2011, Rodgers struggled with a 55.4 passer rating as the Packers beat the #2 seed Chicago Bears 21–14 win to capture the NFC Championship. The Packers earned a trip to Super Bowl XLV, which they won, 31–25, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 pass attempts for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win and was named Super Bowl XLV MVP for his performance.

He was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year for the 2010 season.

2011
Following the 2010 Super Bowl Championship season, Aaron Rodgers got the Packers off to a 11–0 start in 2011. Rodgers played the best half of a season in his career, throwing for 3,475 yards, 33 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions, good for a passer rating of 127.7. These numbers earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Month award for September and October, and FedEx Air Player of the Week four times (Weeks 4, 5, 6, & 7). Through week 12 of the season, Rodgers has had a passer rating of at 110 or greater in every game, the only QB in NFL history to accomplish this feat.

He was the winner of the 2011 Galloping Gobbler for MVP in the Thanksgiving game between the Packers and the Detroit Lions, a 27-15 Green Bay victory.

Touchdown celebration
Since becoming a starter, Rodgers has become known for his unique touchdown celebration which he and his teammates have dubbed the "Championship Belt". After a significant play (more specifically, on any scoring plays) Rodgers celebrates by making a motion as if he is putting an invisible belt on around his waist. 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." The gesture drew the praise of World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Triple H and has become common for Green Bay fans to mimic the celebration as a point of pride during games. Rodgers' celebration is also featured in a State Farm commercial in which he appears, the celebration is called the "Discount Double Check".

During the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs on January 15, 2011 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers was sacked by Falcons defensive end John Abraham who performed the celebration immediately following the play. It was Abraham's only sack of the night. Minutes later, Rodgers scored a rushing touchdown and did the celebration in the Falcons' endzone. The Packers went on to win the game 48–21.

After scoring a touchdown in the NFC Championship game, fellow Packer B. J. Raji celebrated using the "Championship Belt" celebration.

While holding the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers' teammate Clay Matthews placed a replica of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt on Rodgers shoulder.

Professional statistics

 * Regular Season


 * Postseason

Personal
Rodgers currently lives in Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. He has two brothers; his younger brother Jordan is the quarterback for the Vanderbilt Commodores.