Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was ranked 91st in the ESPN’s 100 Greatest Professional Athletes of the 21st Century.
Only sporting achievements from 2000–2024 were taken into account in the voting.
A first-round draft pick by the Packers in 2005, Rodgers has won four NFL MVP Awards and was the MVP of Super Bowl XLV. He has played in 10 Pro Bowls and made five All-Pro teams. Rodgers has led the NFL in passer rating four times. He has led the NFL in passing touchdowns twice. He was a member of the NFL All-Decade Team in the 2010s. Rodgers is also first in team history and fifth in NFL history in passing touchdowns, and first in NFL history in touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio.
Last April, the Packers traded Rodgers to the New York Jets.
Now 40, Rodgers is certain to be elected to the American Football Hall of Fame in the first round. His number 12 will eventually be retired by the Packers.
While it is a great honor to be named one of the top 100 athletes of the century, the four-time NFL MVP and one of the best quarterbacks of the century certainly deserves a higher spot on the list.
ESPN’s methodology involved creating lists of the top 10-25 athletes in each sport to create a pool of athletes. More than 70,000 votes were then cast to determine the top 100 before the final expert evaluation.
The full list of the top 100 had not yet been released as of Tuesday. Among NFL players, former Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, former Ravens safety Ed Reed, former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, former Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt and former Lions receiver Calvin Johnson all ranked between No. 100 and No. 51.
