Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a powerhouse for his team, leading them to a Super Bowl win 2011 while also establishing himself as one of the most formidable passers in the history of the game. Born Aaron Charles Rodgers in Chico, California on December 2, 1983, he moved with his parents and two brothers throughout his childhood, touching down in Ukiah, California and Beaverton, Oregon before returning to Chico in 1997.

Once there, Rodgers set school records for touchdowns, all-purpose yards and total yards as a member of the Pleasant Valley High School football team. After graduation, he spent a year at Butte Community College in northern California, where 26 touchdowns thrown in his freshman season earned Rodgers an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California at Berkeley. He led the Golden Bears to a 7-3 record in his first season as a starter and boosted his stats to 10-1 the following year, which put him in the finals for the Heisman trophy.

After leading the team to the Holiday Bowl in 2004, Rodgers bypassed his senior year at Berkeley to enter the 2005 National Football League (NFL) draft. He was selected 24th in the first round by the Green Bay Packers, and spent most of his first three years with the team off the field while serving as backup quarterback to Brett Favre. He used the downtime wisely, honing his talents with the scout team and in head coach Mike McCarthy's grueling "quarterback school," which drilled players for six hours a day multiple times per week.

Finally, in 2008, Favre was traded to the New York Jets, which put Rodgers in command of the Packers. He quickly established himself as a worthy replacement for the fabled Favre, throwing 28 touchdowns and more than 4,000 yards. By the following year, Rodgers was a star player, setting NFL records for throwing 4,000 years in both of his first two years as a starter and placing in the Top 5 in Packers history for passing yardage.

Despite several significant injuries, including a concussion, Rodgers led the Packers to the 2010 National Football Conference (NFC) championship and then to Super Bowl XLV, which they captured by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011. He continued to post stellar numbers in 2011, earning the Packers the second-longest winning streak in NFL history with a series of 19 won games, while personally garnering NFL records for recording over 400 passing yards with four touchdown passes - a feat regarded by ESPN as the third greatest passing season in NFL history - through he was unable to bring the team back to the Super Bowl in 2012.

The Packers franchise honored his accomplishments with a five-year, $110 million contract extension, which minted Rodgers as the highest paid player in NFL history; however, a 2013 sack left him with a broken clavicle and an uphill fight to maintain his exceptional numbers for the team over the next few years. He bounced back the following year, earning Most Valuable Player status from the Associated Press, but experienced career lows in passing in 2015 and early 2016.

But by the end of the season, Rodgers had made an exceptional comeback, with career highs in completions and attempts and a league-leading record of 40 touchdown passes.