Throughout his career with the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers has solidified his status as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. With four MVP awards and a Super Bowl on his résumé, Rodgers is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Let’s take a closer look at his career timeline, win-loss record, earnings, and more.
Aaron Rodgers’ career timeline
After a two-year career at the University of California, Rodgers was expected to be selected early in the 2005 NFL Draft. Rodgers himself thought he had a good chance to go No. 1 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. Instead, he fell all the way to the Green Bay Packers at No. 24.
Green Bay already had another future Hall of Famer under center in Brett Favre. Thus, Rodgers barely played throughout his first three years in the NFL. From 2005 to 2007, he attempted just 59 passes and didn’t make any starts.
In the 2008 offseason, Favre retired, unretired, and was traded to the New York Jets, landing Rodgers in the starter’s seat. Rodgers quickly established himself as a viable NFL quarterback, throwing for more than 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Green Bay clearly believed in him, as they inked him to a six-year extension in Oct. 2008.
Rodgers missed the postseason in 2008, something he wouldn’t do again in a non-injury season for another decade. In 2009, he earned his first Pro Bowl nod after throwing 30 touchdowns and leading the league with a 1.3% interception rate.
2010 wasn’t one of Rodgers’ best seasons from a personal standpoint, but it was excellent from a team perspective. Although the Packers only finished 10-5 in the regular season, they were able to return to the playoffs. As the No. 6 seed, Green Bay defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers en route to a Super Bowl victory.
The Packers failed to advance past the Divisional Round in any of the next three seasons, but Rodgers posted plenty of success, including his first MVP award in 2011. In 2014, he won another MVP trophy, and Green Bay looked set for another Super Bowl appearance before allowing the Seattle Seahawks to mount a comeback in the NFC Championship Game.
After a somewhat disappointing 2015 campaign, the Packers roared back with 40 touchdowns in 2016. He finished fifth in MVP voting and led Green Bay back to the NFC title game. Rodgers broke his collarbone the following season and only appeared in seven games. The Packers missed the playoffs, and, despite Rodgers playing all 16 games in 2018, they didn’t earn a postseason berth in that year, either.
A new head coach and more MVPs
Green Bay fired longtime head coach Mike McCarthy after that 2018 campaign, hiring former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as his replacement. Rodgers’ relationship with his new head coach appeared rocky at first, and the veteran quarterback continued his downward trend in the pair’s first season together.
With that in mind, Green Bay selected quarterback Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft — and that appeared to be all the motivation Rodgers needed to take his game back to its prior heights.
In 2020, Rodgers completed an astounding 70.7% of his passes for 4,299 yards, 48 touchdowns, and five interceptions. His interception rate was a minuscule 1%. Rodgers won the third MVP of his career, but postseason success again eluded the Packers. Green Bay lost a frustrating NFC Championship Game to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the eventual SB champions.
Entering his age-38 season, Rodgers was far from done. In 2021, he again led the league in touchdown and interception rates. He earned a second consecutive MVP award. Yet, Green Bay struggled in the playoffs once again, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
How many years has Rodgers been in the NFL?
Rodgers has played in the NFL for 17 seasons. However, given that he sat behind Favre for the first three years of his career, he’s only been a starter for 14 years. Rodgers has appeared in 213 games and made 206 starts.
While he’s flirted with retirement in the past, Rodgers has never given any exact indication of when he’ll hang up his cleats. His past dalliances with retirement may have simply resulted from internal disputes with the Packers. Still, there’s a chance he could announce his retirement after the 2022 season.
Rodgers’ win/loss record
Rodgers has won 139 regular-season games during his NFL career. All told, his record as a starter is 139-66-1, good for a .669 winning percentage. In the playoffs, however, Rodgers is just 11-10.
Despite his regular-season success, Rodgers still only has one Super Bowl under his belt. His legacy as one of the great quarterbacks in league history is already secure, but he surely wants to hoist at least one more Lombardi Trophy before his career is over.
Rodgers’ earnings over his 17-year career
Over the course of his 17-year career, Rodgers has earned $263.61 million. That’s the fifth-highest total in NFL history behind Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Ryan.
In March 2022, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension through 2026, making him the highest-paid quarterback in the league on an annual basis. Rodgers’ cap charge will be $28.5 million for the upcoming season before jumping to $31.6 million and $40.7 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively.