Coordinates	10°57′50″N74°47′47″N
Width	200
Number	4
Position	Quarterback
Birth date	October 10, 1969
Birth place	Gulfport, Mississippi
Heightft	6
Heightin	2
Weight	222
Highschool	Hancock North Central
College	Southern Mississippi
Draftyear	1991
Draftround	2
Draftpick	33
Debutyear	1991
Debutteam	Atlanta Falcons
Finalyear	2010
Finalteam	Minnesota Vikings
Teams	Atlanta Falcons () Green Bay Packers (–) New York Jets () Minnesota Vikings (–)
Highlights	Rated #20 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season 11× Pro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009) 3× First-team All-Pro selection (1995, 1996, 1997) 3× Second-team All-Pro selection (2001, 2002, 2007) 3× AP NFL MVP (1995–1997) 5× NFC Player of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007) 2× NFC Champion (1996, 1997) Super Bowl champion (XXXI) NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Career achievements, honors, records and statistics
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	TD–INT
Statvalue1	508–336
Statlabel2	Yards
Statvalue2	71,838
Statlabel3	QB Rating
Statvalue3	86.0
Nfl	FAV540222 }}

Brett Lorenzo Favre (; born October 10, 1969) is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers. He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (1991), Green Bay Packers (1992–2007), New York Jets (2008) and Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010). Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 70,000 yards, over 500 touchdowns, over 300 interceptions, and over 10,000 pass attempts. He officially retired on January 17, 2011.

Favre started at the quarterback position for the University of Southern Mississippi for four years before being selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by Atlanta (33rd overall). He was traded to Green Bay on February 10, 1992, for the 19th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.

Favre became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 season, and started every game through the 2007 season. He was traded to the New York Jets and started at quarterback for the 2008 season before signing with the Vikings on August 18, 2009 as their starting quarterback. He made an NFL record 297 consecutive starts (321 including playoffs).

He is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97). He has led teams to eight division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009), five NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009), and two Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XXXI, Super Bowl XXXII), winning one (Super Bowl XXXI).

He holds many NFL records, including most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, most consecutive starts by a QB, most career victories as a starting quarterback, most sacked, and most fumbles. He is often referred to by his nickname ''"The Gunslinger"''.

Early years

Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi to Irvin (b. January 5, 1945 in Pass Christian, Mississippi – d. December 21, 2003 in Kiln, Mississippi) and Bonita (b. September 27, 1944 in Pass Christian, Mississippi) Favre, and raised in the small town of Kiln. Both his parents were schoolteachers in the Hancock County School District. He is of French and Choctaw ancestry; one of his paternal grandparents was a Native American affiliated with the Choctaw. He was the second of four children and attended Hancock North Central High School where he played baseball and football. Favre started for the Hancock North Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters. He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre, who was the head coach of the team.

Irvin Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs. As a result, in the three years Brett was on the team, his father ran the wishbone, a run-oriented offense. Favre rarely threw more than five passes in a game.

College career

After high school, Southern Mississippi offered Favre a scholarship (the only one he received). Southern Miss wanted him to play defensive back, but Favre wanted to play quarterback instead. Favre began his freshman year as the seventh-string quarterback and took over the starting position in the second half of the third game of the year against Tulane on September 19, 1987. Favre, despite suffering a hangover from the night before and vomiting during warm-ups, led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory with two touchdown passes. Favre started ten games during his freshman year and won six of them.

In his junior season, Favre led the Golden Eagles to an upset of Florida State (then ranked sixth in the nation) on September 2, 1989. Favre capped a six-and-a-half-minute drive with the game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining.

On July 14, 1990, before the start of Favre's senior year at Southern Miss, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. When going around a bend a few tenths of a mile from his parents' house, Favre lost control of his car, which flipped three times and came to rest against a tree. It was only after one of his brothers smashed a car window with a golf club that Favre could be evacuated to the hospital. In the ambulance, his mother was sitting with him. "All I kept asking [her] was 'Will I be able to play football again?'" Favre recalled later. Doctors would later remove of Favre's small intestine. Six weeks after this incident, on September 8, Favre led Southern Miss to a comeback victory over Alabama. Alabama coach Gene Stallings said, "You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life."

Favre continues to hold various Southern Miss football records. As of the end of the 2010 season, he held the career individual record in the following categories: most plays, most total yards gained, most passing yards gained, most completions made, and most passing attempts made. He had held the record for the most touchdowns scored (52), but it was later tied by quarterback Lee Roberts, who played for the school from 1995–98. Favre had 15 games over his career where he compiled more than 200 passing yards, making him the fourth all–time school leader in that category. Of those 15 games, five were 300-yard games, the most compiled by any of the school's quarterbacks. Additionally, he was the seasonal leader in total passing and total offense in all four of his seasons at Southern Miss.

Favre earned a teaching degree with an emphasis in special education from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons (1991)

Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round, 33rd overall in the 1991 NFL Draft. On July 19, 1991, Favre agreed to a three-year, $1.4 million contract with a reported signing bonus of $350,000. Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville did not approve of the drafting of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game. Favre's first pass in an NFL regular season game resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. He only attempted four passes in his career at Atlanta, was intercepted twice, and completed none of them. Brett took one other snap, which resulted in a sack for an eleven yard loss.

The Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf traded a first-round pick (19th overall, which would be used for Tony Smith) for Favre during the following offseason. Wolf, while an assistant to the general manager of the New York Jets, had intended to take Favre in the 1991 NFL draft, but Favre was taken by the Falcons on the previous pick.

According to the ''Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel'' and other sources, during the physical after the trade, Favre was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the hip, the same degenerative condition that ended Bo Jackson's football career, and doctors recommended his physical be failed, which would nullify the trade. Wolf overruled them.

Green Bay Packers (1992–2007)

Brett Favre played 16 seasons in Green Bay. During his time in Green Bay, Favre was the first NFL player to win three consecutive AP MVP awards. The only player to win four AP MVP Awards is Peyton Manning. He helped the Packers appear in two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also started every Green Bay Packers game from September 20, 1992 to January 20, 2008.

Beginnings (1992–1994)

In the second game of the 1992 season, the Packers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers were leading 17–0 at halftime when head coach Mike Holmgren benched starting quarterback Don Majkowski and Favre played the second half. On his first regular season play as a Packer, Favre threw a pass that was deflected and caught by himself. Favre was tackled and the completion went for −7 yards. The Packers lost the game 31–3, chalking up only 106 yards passing.

In the third game of the 1992 season, Majkowski injured a ligament in his ankle against the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury severe enough that he would be out for four weeks. Favre replaced Majkowski for the remainder of the contest. Favre fumbled four times during the course of the game, a performance poor enough that the crowd chanted for Favre to be removed in favor of another Packers backup quarterback at the time, Ty Detmer. However, down 23–17 with 1:07 left in the game, the Packers started an offensive series on their own 8 yard line. Still at the quarterback position, Favre completed a 42 yard pass to Sterling Sharpe. Three plays later, Favre threw the game–winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining.

The next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers began the longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history. The game ended in a 17–3 victory and his passer rating was 144.6. During the season, Favre helped put together a six-game winning streak for the Packers, the longest winning streak for the club since 1965. They ended 9–7 that season, missing the playoffs on their last game. Favre finished his first season as a Packer with 3,227 yards and a quarterback rating of 85.3, helping him to his first Pro Bowl.

The following season Favre helped the Packers to their first playoff berth since 1982 and was named to his second Pro Bowl. After the season Favre became a free agent. General manager Ron Wolf negotiated Favre into a five-year, $19 million contract.

The Packers finished the 1994 season 9–7, advancing them to the playoffs in back to back years, a feat they had not accomplished since the Vince Lombardi era.

MVPs and Super Bowl seasons (1995–1997)

In 1995, Favre won the first of his three AP MVP awards. Favre led the Packers to an 11–5 record, Green Bay's best record in nearly thirty years. Favre passed for a career high of 4,413 yards, 38 touchdowns, and recorded a quarterback rating of 99.5, which was the highest of his career until he recorded a rating of 107.2 during the 2009 season. The Packers advanced to the NFC Championship Game after upsetting the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Game. The Packers lost the NFC Championship game to the Dallas Cowboys, marking the third year in a row the Packers season was ended by the Cowboys in the playoffs. Favre helped the Packers advance farther in the playoffs than any other Packer team since 1967, the season the Packers won Super Bowl II.

While being treated for various injuries, Brett Favre developed an addiction to vicodin, which became publicly known when he suffered a seizure during a hospital visit. Amid an NFL investigation, he went public to avoid any rumors about his condition. In May 1996, he went into treatment and remained in rehabilitation for 46 days. Had he chosen not to go, the NFL would have imposed a $900,000 fine. Favre led the Packers to their best season in 30 years in the 1996 season, winning his second consecutive MVP award in the process. The Packers led the NFL in points scored as well as fewest points scored against. Green Bay tied the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best regular season record, 13–3, defeated the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field in the playoffs. The Packers advanced to Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome, a short drive from Favre's hometown.

In Super Bowl XXXI, Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the second play of the game, Favre threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to receiver Andre Rison. Favre also completed an 81-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman in the second quarter (then a Super Bowl record). Favre rushed for 12 yards and another touchdown, as the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots, 35–21. In their 19 games of the season, the Packers had a turnover ratio of plus 24, and outscored their opponents 100–48 in the playoffs.

Favre and the Packers continued their dominance of the NFC during the next season. Favre was named AP co-MVP of the league along with Detroit Lions' running back Barry Sanders, his third straight award. Also, Green Bay advanced through the playoffs to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. After being heavily favored by 13 points, the Packers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII by the score of 31–24 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, ending the NFC's 13-year Super Bowl winning streak. Favre completed 25 of 42 passes for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception and 1 fumble in the losing effort.

Mid-career (1998–2002)

The Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in a wild card playoff game in 1998. Favre had rallied the team with a touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman with 1:56 remaining in the game to put the Packers up 27–23. However, Steve Young responded with a touchdown of his own to Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to end the Packers season. Favre and the Packers failed for the first time since 1994 to at least reach the NFC championship game.

In the regular season finale of 2001, Favre was the target of minor controversy when, in a game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, he was sacked by the Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. It was Strahan's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL's single–season sack record of 22.5, which topped Mark Gastineau's record of 22 set in 1984. Some analysts, such as Mike Freeman of ''The New York Times'', expressed the opinion that Favre allowed himself to be sacked in order to allow Strahan to set the record.

On March 1, 2001, Favre signed a "lifetime" contract extension, which technically was a 10-year contract extension worth around $100 million.

Favre and the Packers continued posting positive results through the next few seasons. Through the 2004 season, the Packers had the longest streak of non-losing seasons (13) in the NFL, despite an 8–8 record under coach Ray Rhodes, a 9–7 season under coach Mike Sherman, and no playoff berths in either 1999 or 2000. The streak ended in 2005, with the Packers finishing 4–12 overall.

Later career & personal tragedies (2003–2006)

One day after his father died of a heart attack or stroke, Favre decided to play in a December 22, 2003, ''Monday Night Football'' game against the Oakland Raiders. The Packers traveled to Oakland where Favre passed for four touchdowns in the first half and 399 total yards in a 41–7 victory over the Raiders on international television (even receiving applause from "Raider Nation"). He completed 73.3% of his passes and finished the game with a passer rating of 154.9 – the highest of Favre's career and just 3.4 points shy of perfect. Afterwards, Favre said, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight." He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. He then went to his father's funeral in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Favre won an ESPY Award for his ''Monday Night Football'' performance.

A notable game in the 2004 season in which Favre and the Packers finished 10–6 was against the New York Giants. During the game, Favre suffered a concussion. He did not receive medical clearance to re-enter the game. Despite the concussion, Favre threw a 28-yard touchdown to Javon Walker on a fourth down play. Afterwards it was reported that Favre did not remember throwing the touchdown pass.

After the death of his father, a series of events related to Favre's family were reported in the media. In October 2004, ten months after the death of Favre's father, his brother-in-law, Casey Tynes, was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Favre's Mississippi property.

Soon after in 2004, Favre's wife, Deanna Favre, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following aggressive treatment through 2004, she recovered. She created The Deanna Favre Hope Foundation which supports breast cancer education and women's breast imaging and diagnosis services for all women, including those who are medically underserved.

In late August 2005, Favre's family suffered another setback: Hurricane Katrina blew through Mississippi, destroying his family's home there; however, none of his family members were injured. Brett and Deanna's property in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was also extensively damaged by the storm. Favre elected to continue to play in the 2005 season.

For the 2005 season, the Packers, despite throwing for over 3,000 yards for a record 14th consecutive time, Favre had a below average season with only 20 touchdown passes and a league-leading 29 interceptions. The loss of guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle to free agency along with key injuries to Javon Walker, Ahman Green, Bubba Franks, among others, hampered Favre and the team. His passer rating was 70.9, 31st in the NFL and the worst single season rating of his career. After the disappointing season, many speculated that Favre would retire. However, on April 26, 2006, Favre announced that he would remain with the team for the 2006 season. Despite earlier comments that the 2006 season would be his last, Favre announced in a press conference on May 6, 2006, that he had not ruled out the possibility of returning beyond the 2006 season.

In the 2006 season, Favre suffered his first career shutout against the Chicago Bears. Later in the season, the New England Patriots shut out the Packers in a game where he was injured before halftime and could not complete the game. On September 24, 2006, he became just the second quarterback in NFL history to record 400 touchdown passes (Dan Marino being the first). He connected with rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings on a 5-yard pass that Jennings turned into a 75-yard touchdown play during a win against the Detroit Lions. He also became the first player ever to complete 5,000 passes in his career. On December 31, 2006, the Packers played their last game of the season, winning 26–7 against the Chicago Bears. It was his 22nd career win versus the Bears, moving him to an all-time record of 22–8.

Milestone season (2007)

On February 26, 2007, Brett Favre underwent minor arthroscopic ankle surgery in Green Bay, Wisconsin to remove a buildup of bone spurs in his left ankle.

Favre began the 2007 season trailing in a number of career NFL passing records. On September 16, 2007, Favre and the Packers defeated the New York Giants to give Favre his record setting 149th win, passing John Elway. On September 30, Favre threw a 16 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings in a game against the Vikings. This was his 421st NFL touchdown pass, and set a new all time record, surpassing Dan Marino's 420.

On November 4, 2007, after the Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 33–22, Favre became only the 3rd quarterback to have defeated all thirty-one other current NFL teams. He joined Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do this, just the week after the two of them achieved the accomplishment. On Thanksgiving 2007, Favre led the Packers to a 37–26 win over the Lions, and brought the Packers to a 10–1 record. He won the Galloping Gobbler award, given by the broadcasters at Fox to the game MVP. Favre threw three touchdown passes for his 63rd career game with at least three touchdowns, surpassing Marino's former record of 62.

Favre led the Packers to a 13–3 regular season record, the NFC North championship, and the second seed in the NFC playoffs. Prior to the Packers' playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, Favre stated his desire to continue playing football for another season. In the Divisional Playoffs, Favre threw three touchdowns as the Packers cruised to a 42–20 victory over the Seahawks at a snowy Lambeau Field. The Packers' season ended the following week when they suffered a 23–20 overtime loss in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Negotiating sub-zero temperatures, Favre amassed 236 passing yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception in overtime that set up the Giants' game-winning field goal. Favre's 90-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver in the second quarter was the longest pass in Packers playoff history, and it extended Favre's NFL record for consecutive postseason games with a touchdown pass to 18. Favre stated after the game that he would make a decision more quickly than he has in the past regarding whether he would return for another season.

Favre's milestone 2007 season culminated with his selection to the 2008 Pro Bowl as the starting quarterback for the NFC, but an ankle injury forced him to withdraw.

Retirements and returns (2008)

Beginning near the end of the 2006 season, word began to surface that Favre was considering retirement. In fact, playing in Soldier Field against the arch-rival Bears in the season finale, Favre was given a standing ovation in the closing seconds of the Packer victory as a show of respect from Chicago fans to their longtime nemesis. Moments later at the postgame interview, he gave a tearful interview with an NBC Sports correspondent, where he admitted his future was still questionable. However, after much debate, he returned for 2007, during which his future was once again in doubt and an oft-discussed topic, with many in the media speculating that if the Packers made the Super Bowl, Favre would indeed retire and hand the reins to the unproven but talented Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted two years earlier as Favre's heir-apparent. Ultimately, the Packers fell in the NFC Championship to the New York Giants (who in turn upset the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII).

On March 4, 2008, Favre formally announced his retirement. Although Favre stated that he had been willing to play another year, he felt that another season would only be successful if he led his team to another Super Bowl victory. He added the chances for a Super Bowl win were small, and that he wasn't up for the challenge. At his press conference, Favre openly wept about leaving the NFL. He stated that his decision, regardless of what was being said in the media, had nothing to do with what the Packers did or didn't do. He said, seemingly contradictory to Cook's statements, that his decision to retire was based on the fact that he didn't want to play anymore. He said during the conference, "I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. And that's really what it comes down to."

On July 2, 2008, it was reported that Favre was in contact with the Packers about a possible return to the team. On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers asking for his unconditional release to allow him to play for another NFL team. Packers general manager Ted Thompson announced he would not grant Favre an unconditional release and reaffirmed the organization's commitment to Aaron Rodgers as its new quarterback. Complicating matters was Favre's unique contract giving him the leverage to void any potential trade by not reporting to the camp of the team he might be traded to if the Packers elect to go that route.

Favre spoke publicly for the first time about his potential comeback in a July 14, 2008, interview with Greta Van Susteren on the Fox News Channel's ''On the Record with Greta Van Susteren''. In the interview, Favre said he was "guilty of retiring early," that he was "never fully committed" to retirement, and that he was pressured by the Packers to make a decision before the NFL Draft and the start of the free agent signing period. Favre disputed the notion that he doesn't want to play for Green Bay and said that while he understands the organization has decided to move on, they should now allow him to do the same. He made clear that he would not return to the Packers as a backup and reiterated his desire to be released rather than traded, which would allow him the freedom to play for a competitive team. Favre also accused the Packers of being dishonest, wishing the team would have been straightforward with him and the public.

In the second part of the interview, which aired on July 15, Favre expressed his frustration with Packer management, spoke of his sympathy for successor Aaron Rodgers' predicament, and affirmed he is 100 percent committed to playing football in 2008.

FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer reported on July 16, 2008, that the Packers filed tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings with the league office, alleging improper communication between Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Favre, although one source suggested that Favre may have been in contact with Vikings head coach Brad Childress. After an investigation, Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled there had been no violation of tampering rules.

Favre formally filed for reinstatement with the NFL on July 29, 2008, and his petition was granted by Commissioner Goodell, effective August 4, 2008. Favre then flew to Green Bay to report to Packers training camp. After a lengthy meeting with head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson, however, both sides agreed it was time for Favre and the organization to part ways. McCarthy sensed Favre was not in "the right mind-set" to resume playing for the Packers, while Favre felt that his relationship with Packer management had deteriorated to the point that a return to the team would be untenable.

New York Jets (2008)

After negotiations with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets, the Packers traded Favre to the Jets on August 7, 2008, in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft with performance escalation. Favre's season with the Jets started well; in week four of the 2008 season, he threw six touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, a personal best and one fewer than the NFL record. This performance led to him being selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week. By Week 12, the Jets had compiled an 8–3 record, including a win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans. However, the Jets lost four of the last five games of the season, including the final game against the Miami Dolphins, who had acquired Chad Pennington after he was released from the Jets to make room for Favre. In those five games, Favre threw eight interceptions and only two touchdown passes, bringing his season total to twenty-two of each. Favre had complained of shoulder pain and had an MRI performed on December 29, 2008, which revealed a torn biceps tendon in his right shoulder. After the 2008 season had ended, in mid January 2009, Favre told Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum, "it may be time to look in a different direction" regarding the quarterback position. On February 11, 2009, Favre informed the Jets that he was retiring after 18 seasons. He remained property of the New York Jets organization, until April 28, 2009, when the Jets released Favre from his contract, thus allowing him to sign anywhere he wanted. By May 2009, he was officially cut from the Jets Reserve/Retired list. In September 2009, Favre again made Jets news, as the NFL learned that the Jets were aware that Favre injured his arm in the eleventh game of the 2008 season, and fined the Jets $125,000 for not reporting the injury in any of the Jets' five final games.

Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010)

Favre officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009. He would go on to have a landmark season in which he surpassed former Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall for consecutive starts at one position, with 291., became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat every one of the league's 32 franchises since the NFL first expanded to 32 franchises in 2002., surpassed Dan Marino's previous record for four-touchdown games, and was named to his 11th Pro Bowl. The Vikings finished 12-4 and advanced to the NFC Championship game, ultimately losing in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Despite the loss, Favre set playoff records for pass completions and passing yards previously held by Joe Montana.

On Tuesday, August 3, 2010, NBC Sports reported the confirmation of Brett Favre returning to the Minnesota Vikings, however he repeatedly mentioned that the 2010 season would be his final season. An announcement was given on August 17, 2010 confirming his return to the team. That season, Brett Favre achieved two milestones. He threw for his 500th touchdown and 70,000th yard against the New York Jets. On December 2, 2010, in a game against the Buffalo Bills, Favre was hit by Bills linebacker Arthur Moats while making a throw, causing him to sustain a sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder. Favre missed the rest of the game and was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson who led the Vikings to victory despite throwing three interceptions.

On December 13, 2010, due to his sprained shoulder, Brett Favre was marked inactive for the game against the New York Giants ending his consecutive regular season start streak at 297. Favre started a total of 321 games including post-season appearances. On December 20, 2010 while playing the Chicago Bears outside at TCF Bank Stadium due to the collapse of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Favre sustained a concussion after being sacked by Bears defensive end Corey Wootton. This would be his final appearance in an NFL game.

On January 2, 2011, Favre was unable to play against the Detroit Lions in the final game of the regular NFL season due to his inability to pass NFL-mandated post-concussion tests. In a press conference immediately following the game, Favre announced his intention to retire from professional football.

On January 17, 2011, Favre officially filed his retirement papers with the NFL.

Career achievements

Honors and awards

3× Associated Press Most Valuable Player (MVP) (1995, 1996, and 1997; the last shared with Barry Sanders). 11× Pro Bowl selection. 6× First- or Second-team All-Pro selection. Named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

Records and milestones

Favre owns a number of NFL records. Favre also owns a number of team records, having printed his name into almost every passing category in the annals of Green Bay Packers history.

Favre is the only quarterback to have led a team to victory over all thirty-two teams in the league since the NFL expanded to 32 franchises in 2002.

Favre is one of four quarterbacks to lead the league in touchdown passes four times. The others are Johnny Unitas, Len Dawson, and Steve Young.

Consecutive starts streak

Since first being named the starter of the Green Bay Packers before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 27, 1992, Brett Favre had never missed a game spanning over eighteen and one half consecutive seasons. He holds the record for the most consecutive starts by any player in the NFL with 297, and is one of only six quarterbacks to have started over 100 consecutive games in NFL history. He failed to finish a game due to injury on only eight occasions since taking control of the Packers as quarterback.

Since the beginning of Favre's consecutive starts streak, 238 other quarterbacks have started in the NFL, seventeen of them being back-ups to Favre at one point. Among the former backups who started a game during his streak include: Don Majkowski (1992), Ty Detmer (1992–1995), Mark Brunell (1993–1994), Doug Pederson (1996–1998, 2001–2004), Steve Bono (1997), Rick Mirer (1998), Matt Hasselbeck (1999–2000), Aaron Brooks (1999), Danny Wuerffel (2000), Henry Burris (2001), J.T. O'Sullivan (2004), Aaron Rodgers (2005–2007), Kellen Clemens (2008), and Tarvaris Jackson (2009–2010), with three veteran backups having never started another NFL game: Jim McMahon (1995–1996), T.J. Rubley (1995), and Sage Rosenfels (2009). Seven other quarterbacks were back-ups to Favre but did not start a game during the streak which includes: Craig Nall (2002–2005, 2007), Ingle Martin (2006), Brett Ratliff (2008), Erik Ainge (2008), Rhett Bomar (2010), and R.J. Archer (2010), with one backup having started since the streak ended: Joe Webb (2010). Five other quarterbacks were training camp and/or practice squad participants with Favre but failed to make the final roster including Kurt Warner (1994), Jay Barker (1995), Ronnie McAda (1997), Eric Crouch (2003-2004) and John David Booty (2009).

The consecutive starts streak is widely considered one of the most notable streaks in sports, so much so that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has as an exhibit displaying the jersey Favre wore during his record breaking 117th consecutive start as a quarterback, and a section of their website devoted to what the Hall of Fame calls an "Iron Man".

In 2009, Favre surpassed Jim Marshall for starts at any position with his record-breaking 271st start as a quarterback as the Vikings played the Lions. His streak ended at 297, with the last start in the streak coming on December 5, 2010. Favre was unable to start the Vikings' December 13 game against the New York Giants due to a shoulder injury, despite the game being delayed for a day because of the collapse of the Metrodome roof.

Statistics

Brett Favre's professional statistics:

1991 Atlanta Falcons season1992 Green Bay Packers season1993 Green Bay Packers season1994 Green Bay Packers season1995 Green Bay Packers season1996 Green Bay Packers season1997 Green Bay Packers season1998 Green Bay Packers season1999 Green Bay Packers season2000 Green Bay Packers season2001 Green Bay Packers season2002 Green Bay Packers season2003 Green Bay Packers season2004 Green Bay Packers season2005 Green Bay Packers season2006 Green Bay Packers season2007 Green Bay Packers season2008 New York Jets season2009 Minnesota Vikings season2010 Minnesota Vikings season !colspan="2"

Regular Season	Passing	Rushing
!YEAR	!TEAM	!GP	!GS	!CMP	!ATT	!CMP%	!YDS	!TD	!INT	!LNG	!20+	!40+	!SK	!SKY	!YPA	!YPG	!TD%	!INT%	!RATE	!W	!L	!ATT	!YDS	!AVG	!TD	!LNG	!1ST
1991	ATL||	2	0	0	4	0.0	0	0	2	—	0	0	1	11	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
1992	GB||	15	13	302	471	64.1	3,227	18	13	76T	30	9	34	208	6.9	215.1	3.8	2.8	85.3	8	5	47	198	4.2	1	19	11
1993	GB||	16	16	318	522	60.9	3,303	19	24	66T	37	5	30	199	6.3	206.4	3.6	4.6	72.2	9	7	58	216	3.7	1	27	13
1994	GB||	16	16	363	582	62.4	3,882	33	14	49	44	4	31	188	6.7	242.6	5.7	2.4	90.7	9	7	42	202	4.8	2	36T	14
1995	GB||	16	16	359	570	63.0	4,413	38	13	99T	59	5	33	217	7.7	275.8	6.7	2.3	99.5	11	5	39	181	4.6	3	40	17
1996	GB||	16	16	325	543	59.9	3,899	39	13	80T	49	11	40	241	7.2	243.7	7.2	2.4	95.8	13	3	49	136	2.8	2	23	18
1997	GB||	16	16	304	513	59.3	3,867	35	16	74	61	9	25	176	7.5	241.7	6.8	3.1	92.6	13	3	58	187	3.2	1	16	16
1998	GB||	16	16	347	551	63.0	4,212	31	23	84T	47	9	38	223	7.6	263.2	5.6	4.2	87.8	11	5	40	133	3.3	1	35	13
1999	GB||	16	16	341	595	57.3	4,091	22	23	74T	52	11	35	223	6.9	255.7	3.7	3.9	74.7	8	8	28	142	5.1	0	20	11
2000	GB||	16	16	338	580	58.3	3,812	20	16	67T	41	7	33	236	6.6	238.2	3.4	2.8	78.0	9	7	27	108	4.0	0	18	7
2001	GB||	16	16	314	510	61.6	3,921	32	15	67T	53	13	22	151	7.7	245.1	6.3	2.9	94.1	12	4	38	56	1.5	1	14	5
2002	GB||	16	16	341	551	61.9	3,658	27	16	85T	39	7	26	188	6.6	228.6	4.9	2.9	85.6	12	4	25	73	2.9	0	17	6
2003	GB||	16	16	308	471	65.4	3,361	32	21	66T	42	7	19	137	7.1	210.1	6.8	4.5	90.4	10	6	18	15	0.8	0	7	3
2004	GB||	16	16	346	540	64.1	4,088	30	17	79T	50	12	12	93	7.6	255.5	5.6	3.1	92.4	10	6	16	36	2.3	0	17	2
2005	GB||	16	16	372	607	61.3	3,881	20	29	59	40	7	24	170	6.4	242.6	3.3	4.8	70.9	4	12	18	62	3.4	0	20	4
2006	GB||	16	16	343	613	56.0	3,885	18	18	82T	49	8	21	134	6.3	242.8	2.9	2.9	72.7	8	8	23	29	1.3	1	14	4
2007	GB||	16	16	356	535	66.5	4,155	28	15	82T	49	16	15	93	7.8	259.7	5.2	2.8	95.7	13	3	29	12	0.4	0	21	3
2008	NYJ||	16	16	343	522	65.7	3,472	22	22	56T	40	7	30	213	6.7	217.0	4.2	4.2	81.0	9	7	21	43	2.0	1	27	4
2009	MIN||	16	16	363	531	68.4	4,202	33	7	63	48	11	34	247	7.9	259.1	5.8	1.4	107.2	12	4	9	7	0.8	0	4	1
2010	MIN||	13	13	217	358	60.6	2,509	11	19	53T	38	1	22	139	7.0	193.0	3.1	5.3	69.9	5	8	17	8	0.5	0	10	1
20 Seasons||	302	298	6,300	10,169	62.0	71,838	508	336	99	872	161	525	3,487	7.1	237.9	5.0	3.3	86.0	186	112	602	1,844	3.1	14	40	153

Personal life

Favre married Deanna Tynes on July 14, 1996. Together, they have two daughters, Brittany (born 1989) and Breleigh (born 1999). A grandson, Parker Brett, was born to Brittany on April 2, 2010. The NFL has stated that it knew of no other grandfathers among current NFL players.

Favre's mother, Bonita, helps manage his holdings in agriculture and real estate, handle his endorsements and appearances and oversee his charity work. Brett and Bonita Favre released a book in 2004 titled ''Favre'' (ISBN 978-1-59071-036-4) which discusses their personal family and Green Bay Packers family, including the ''Monday Night Football'' game that followed the death of Brett's father Irvin Favre.

Favre established the Brett Favre Fourward Foundation in 1996. In conjunction with his annual golf tournament, celebrity softball game and fundraising dinners, the foundation has donated more than $2 million to charities in his home state of Mississippi as well as to those in his adopted state of Wisconsin.

The Favre family also owns and operates the Brett Favre's Steakhouse, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Favre made a cameo appearance in the 1998 romantic comedy film ''There's Something About Mary'' as Cameron Diaz's character's love interest.

Favre is a spokesperson for many products, including Snapper Inc., Wrangler Jeans and Sears. In the Sears ads, Favre pokes fun at himself for his constant waffling between retirement and continuing his playing career by debating whether or not to buy a plasma screen TV, saying "I'll take it... Nah, I don't know". In another ad he has a conversation with a Blue Crew associate who says of the TV, "some guys just can't make up their minds" to which Favre replies "Yeah, I hate those guys." In a Hyundai commercial with a similar theme, he accepts the 2020 NFL MVP award, with fully gray hair, saying "When you're playing at 50, and you're older than the fans, coaches, and owners, well... I should probably retire after this... But I don't know."

Allegations of misconduct

On October 8, 2010, the NFL began investigating Favre for allegedly sexting and leaving inappropriate voice messages for Jets "Gameday host" Jenn Sterger during the 2008 season. The investigation was in response to the voicemail recordings and photos posted by the website Deadspin the day before. In late October 2010, Favre was rumored to have admitted to NFL officials investigating the allegations that he indeed left the voicemail messages on Jenn Sterger's phone, but denied sending photos. On December 29, 2010, Favre was found not to be in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy, but was fined $50,000 for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

Favre was temporarily banned by the NFL from drinking alcohol after he admitted he was addicted to Vicodin and spent 46 days at a drug rehab clinic before the 1996 season.

Notes and references

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio

Brett Favre Video on NFL.com

Brett Favre Video on ESPN Video Archive

Brett Favre Video & Audio on Boston.com

Brett Favre Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Brett Favre: The NFL's Greatest Gunslinger – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of Choctaw descent Category:American people of French descent Category:Atlanta Falcons players Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:Minnesota Vikings players Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players Category:Native American sportspeople Category:New York Jets players Category:People from Gulfport, Mississippi Category:People from Hancock County, Mississippi Category:People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Category:Players of American football from Mississippi Category:Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players

ca:Brett Favre da:Brett Favre de:Brett Favre es:Brett Favre fr:Brett Favre hi:ब्रैट फार्व it:Brett Favre he:ברט פארב lv:Brets Farvs hu:Brett Favre nl:Brett Favre ja:ブレット・ファーヴ no:Brett Favre pt:Brett Favre ru:Фарв, Бретт simple:Brett Favre fi:Brett Favre sv:Brett Favre

Coordinates	10°57′50″N74°47′47″N
Name	Mike Morgan
Position	Pitcher
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	October 08, 1959
Birth place	Tulare, California
Debutdate	June 11
Debutyear	1978
Debutteam	Oakland Athletics
Finaldate	September 2
Finalyear	2002
Finalteam	Arizona Diamondbacks
Stat1label	Win–Loss record
Stat1value	141–186
Stat2label	Earned run average
Stat2value	4.23
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	1,403
Teams	Oakland Athletics (–) New York Yankees () Toronto Blue Jays () Seattle Mariners (–) Baltimore Orioles () Los Angeles Dodgers (–) Chicago Cubs (–) St. Louis Cardinals (–) Cincinnati Reds (–) Minnesota Twins () Chicago Cubs () Texas Rangers () Arizona Diamondbacks (–)
Highlights	All-Star selection (1991) World Series champion () }}

Michael Thomas Morgan (born October 8, 1959 in Tulare, California) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He competed for twelve different teams over 25 years, and is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have played Major League baseball over four decades (1978–2002). Morgan currently shares the major league record for most ML teams pitched for, alongside Ron Villone and Octavio Dotel; first baseman/outfielder/designated hitter Matt Stairs took the field for his 13th team in 2011, establishing the record for position players.

Morgan was nicknamed "The Nomad" by his teammates due to his constant travel from team to team.

Major League debut

After attending Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV and pitching for the baseball team, Morgan was selected by the Oakland Athletics on 6 June 1978 in the 1st Round (fourth overall) of the Major League Draft and on June 11 made his major league debut, throwing a complete game in a 3-0 loss to Scott McGregor and the Baltimore Orioles. After going losing his first three starts in Oakland, Morgan was sent down to AAA Vancouver for the rest of the season, going 5-6 with a 5.58 earned run average (ERA) in 92 innings pitched. Although he had put up less than spectacular numbers, he had pitched over 100 innings between AAA and the majors as an 18-year-old and despite an alarming strikeout-to-walk ratio of 0.5:1 (31 strikeouts and 62 walks) was clearly on the fast track.

After starting the 1979 season with the AAA Ogden A's, Morgan was called up again to the big club after posting a 5-5 record with a 3.48 ERA in 101 innings. However, he again appeared overmatched, finishing the season 2-10 for the A's. Morgan then spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues. After finishing 1980 with another unspectacular season, finishing with a 6-9 record back at Ogden, Oakland decided to cut bait and traded Morgan on November 3 to the New York Yankees for 33 year old infielder, Fred Stanley. Thus was the start of Morgan's vagabond career. The Yankees then demoted Morgan and assigned him to AA Nashville where he posted an 8-7 record with a 4.42 ERA in 169 innings.

"The Nomad"

In 1982, Morgan pitched the entire season for the Yankees, seeing time in 30 games with 23 starts. On December 9, Morgan was traded again, this time to the Toronto Blue Jays along with outfielder/first baseman Dave Collins, and future all star first baseman Fred McGriff for minor league third baseman Tom Dodd and reliever Dale Murray. Morgan then split time between Toronto and AAA Syracuse in 1983 before spending the entire 1984 season at Syracuse. In December 1984, Morgan was taken off the Blue Jays' 40-man roster and was subsequently chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. After losing much of 1985 to arm trouble, Morgan then spent most of the next three seasons pitching for Seattle and compiling similar numbers to his career average, going 24-35 with a 4.53 over 429 innings with 216 strikeouts and 144 walks. In a hint of later career success, Morgan collected his first career save in 1986. Although showing himself to be a solidly average starting pitcher, he would continue to struggle with his control, annually sporting ugly strikeouts-to-walk ratios, and fail to show the promise that made him a first round selection. On December 9, Morgan was shipped to the Baltimore Orioles for righty starter Ken Dixon and would spend the 1988 season splitting time between Baltimore and AAA Rochester. That year he was recognized for hi humanitarian work by winning the Little League's Junior Cy Young award.

After being traded to his sixth franchise in March, in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for center fielder Mike Devereaux, Morgan would spend 1989–91 with the team. This time would include Morgan's first winning season as a pro in 1991, his lone All-Star season, with a 14–10 record. However, Morgan was also known for an infamous footnote. On July 28 of that year, he was at the losing end of Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martinez's perfect game, even though Morgan himself was perfect through the first five innings.

After leaving Baltimore as a free agent, Morgan would spend his first stint with the Chicago Cubs from 1992–95. In 1992, Morgan seemingly put it all together, finishing the season 16–8 with a 2.55 ERA over 240 innings - easily the best season of his career. However, he could not repeat his efforts and went 12-25 over the next two seasons after again experiencing arm trouble.

After seeming to bounce back in the beginning of 1995, starting the season 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA for the Cubs, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals along with minor leaguer catcher Francisco Morales and first baseman/third baseman Paul Torres for third baseman Todd Zeile and cash, and went 5-6 in 17 starts the rest of the way. In 1996, Morgan would return to form, posting a 4-8 record with a 5.24 ERA, and would be released by the Cardinals on August 28. He would not be unemployed long as he signed with the Cincinnati Reds on September 4 and spent the remainder of the 1996 and all of 1997 with the Reds.

Post-season play

After leaving the Reds as a free Agent, Morgan signed in December 1997 with the Minnesota Twins. After putting up good numbers with the Twins through August (4-2 with a 3.49 ERA and only 24 walks in 98 innings), Morgan was traded on August 25 back to the Cubs for pitcher Scott Downs and cash. While with the Cubs, he was on the mound when Mark McGwire hit his record-tying 61st home run. He also went to the postseason for the first time, relieving in two games without giving up a run, but the Cubs lost to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series. On 29 January, 1999, Morgan joined his 11th team, signing with the Texas Rangers as a free agent. Although he pitched to a 13-10 record, he had an ERA of 6.24 and was demoted to the bullpen late in the season. It appeared that his career was officially over.

Prior to spring training in 2000, the 40-year-old journeyman signed with his 12th team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who successfully converted Morgan to a full-time reliever and emergency starter. Morgan excelled in this role and appeared in 60 games and over 100 innings compiled an ERA that was only slightly above career average. After pitching in 31 games in 2001, including his last start, Morgan was again in the post-season with the D-backs and would appear in all three rounds including throwin 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as Arizona defeated the New York Yankees in seven games to win the 2001 World Series. He was back for another go-round in 2002 and pitched 28 games over the first three months before being sidelined by an injury. He came back to make the final appearance of his career on September 2, pitching 1 1/3 innings and giving up an unearned run in a 19-1 loss to the Dodgers,. Morgan would finish the season 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA, and was not included on the D-Backs' post-season roster. Following the season, Morgan would retire from baseball after 21 seasons.

Morgan was the last active player to have competed during the 1978 season and one of the last four (the others being Jesse Orosco, Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines) to have debuted in the 1970s who continued to play past the 2000 season. In the 597 games Morgan pitched, 411 were starts. His career record was 141-186 with a 4.23 ERA, 1403 strikeouts and eight saves in 2772 1/3 innings.

Morgan was tied with National Hockey League player Mike Sillinger and MLB pitcher Matt Skrmetta for the most teams played for in any North American professional sport through June 2006, when Skrmetta signed with the Chicago White Sox, his 24th professional team and 13th organization.

Personal life

Morgan currently resides in Ogden, Utah and owns "World Championship Outfitters", company which takes people on private hunts with Morgan as the guide. He also instructs youth baseball players one-on-one through the company "Ultimate Sports".

In 2009, he became a volunteer coach on the Pleasant Grove High School baseball team in Pleasant Grove, UT and continued with Pleasant Grove through the 2010 season. In 2010, he created the "Robinson's Transport Wounded Warrior Hunt", a hunt for military members who have received a Purple Heart.

See also

List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins

List of baseball players who went directly to the major leagues

References

External links

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Arizona Diamondbacks players Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:New York Yankees players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:Toronto Blue Jays players Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:Texas Rangers players Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:National League All-Stars Category:Baseball players from California Category:People from Tulare County, California Category:Vancouver Canadians players Category:Ogden A's players Category:Nashville Sounds players Category:Syracuse Chiefs players Category:Calgary Cannons players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Orlando Cubs players Category:St. Petersburg Cardinals players Category:Louisville Redbirds players Category:Tucson Sidewinders players

pt:Mike Morgan

Coordinates	10°57′50″N74°47′47″N
Name	Aaron Rodgers
Width	280px
Currentteam	Green Bay Packers
Currentnumber	12
Currentpositionplain	Quarterback
Birth date	December 02, 1983
Birth place	Chico, California
Heightft	6
Heightin	2
Weight	220
Debutyear	2005
Debutteam	Green Bay Packers
Highlights	Pro Bowl selection (2009) Super Bowl champion (XLV) Super Bowl MVP (XLV) FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year, 2010 Only player in NFL history to have 4,000 passing yards in each of his first two starting seasons 2004 First-team All-Pac-10
College	California
Draftyear	2005
Draftround	1
Draftpick	24
Pastteams	Green Bay Packers (–present)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	1,611
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	1,038
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	64.4
Statlabel4	TD–INT
Statvalue4	87–32
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	12,723
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	98.4
Nfl	ROD339293 }}

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 (98.4), 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 (1.99%).

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.

College career

2002

Despite his record-setting statistics, Rodgers, at 5'10" and 165 pounds as a senior, both undersized for Division I quarterbacks, garnered little interest from programs with only one offer, a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football and studying to become a lawyer. He was then recruited to play football at a local junior college,Butte Community College in Oroville, about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico. In his freshman season, he threw 28 touchdowns while leading Butte to a 10–1 record, a 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 suprised Rodgers had not been recruited highly. Because he had a 3.6 grade point average and SAT score of 1300 out of 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 career statistics

! style="width:4%;" 215 California Golden Bears football 424

colSpan="2"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td
2003	California Golden Bears football>Cal	|	349	61.6	2903	8.3	19	5	146.58	86	210	2.4	5
2004	Cal ||	209	316	66.1	2566	8.1	24	8	154.35	74	126	1.7	3
colspan=2>Totals	|	665	63.8	5469	8.2	43	13	150.27	160	336	2.10	8

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''

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

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 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.

Starting seasons

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 Rodger's 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. During the playoffs, 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.

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 specially, 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.

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 ! style="width:4%;" 3 GNB GNB GNB GNB GNB 54

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2005 Green Bay Packers season	2005	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	0	9	16	56.3	65	4.1	0	1	39.8	2	7	3.5	0	2	2
2006 Green Bay Packers season	2006	|	2	0	6	15	40.0	46	3.1	0	0	48.2	2	11	5.5	0	1	1
2007 Green Bay Packers season	2007	|	2	0	20	28	71.4	218	7.8	1	0	106.0	7	29	4.1	0	0
2008 Green Bay Packers season	2008	|	16	16	341	536	63.6	4,038	7.5	28	13	93.8	56	207	3.7	4	10	3
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	|	16	16	350	541	64.7	4,434	8.2	30	7	103.2	58	316	5.4	5	10	4
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	15	15	312	475	65.7	3,922	8.3	28	11	101.2	64	356	5.6	4	4	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	47	1,038	1,611	64.4	12,723	7.9	87	32	98.4	189	926	4.9	13	27	11

;Postseason

! style="width:4%;" 1 GNB 5

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	1	28	42	66.7	423	10.1	4	1	121.4	3	13	4.3	1	1	1
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	4	4	90	132	68.2	1094	8.3	9	2	109.8	14	54	3.9	2	2	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	5	118	174	67.8	1,517	8.7	13	3	--	17	67	3.9	3	3	2

References

Further reading

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

California Golden Bears bio

Pro Football Reference.com

Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:California Golden Bears football players Category:Players of American football from California Category:People from Chico, California Category:Super Bowl MVPs Category:1983 births Category:Living people

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