Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ranked No. 91 in ESPN’s list of the top 100 professional athletes of the 21st century.
Only athletic accomplishments ranging between 2000 and 2024 were considered in the voting process.
Rodgers, a first-round pick of the Packers in 2005, won four NFL MVPs and was MVP of Super Bowl XLV. He made 10 Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. Four times, Rodgers led the NFL in passer rating. Twice, he led the NFL in passing touchdowns. He was a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s. Rodgers is also first in team history and fifth in NFL history in passing touchdowns, and first in NFL history in touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The Packers traded Rodgers to the New York Jets last April.
Now 40 years old, Rodgers is certain to be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. His No. 12 will be retired by the Packers eventually.
While a tremendous honor to be included in the top 100 athletes of the century so far, a four-time NFL MVP and one of the best quarterbacks of the century probably deserves to be higher up the list.
ESPN’s methodology involved creating lists of the top 10-25 athletes in each sport to create a pool of athletes. Over 70,000 votes were then cast to determine the top 100 list before a final evaluation from experts.
The full top 100 hasn’t been revealed 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.
