It's impossible to talk about the career of Aaron Rodgers without mentioning Brett Favre, as the two will forever be connected after spending three tumultuous years as teammates with the Green Bay Packers.
We'll get into their time together in more detail in just a moment, but it's no secret that the two didn't have the greatest relationship for a long time. And while they've seemingly patched things up over the years, one has to wonder if Rodgers still carries at least a little bit of a chip on his shoulder when it comes to his fellow Packers legend.
As such, Rodgers, now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, would presumably be excited about the fact that during what he says will likely be his last NFL season, he has the chance to surpass Favre on the NFL's all-time regular-season touchdown passes leaderboard. Here's how the top five currently shakes out.
Rank | Player | Reg. Season TD Passes |
|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Brady | 649 |
2 | Drew Brees | 571 |
3 | Peyton Manning | 539 |
4 | Brett Favre | 508 |
5 | Aaron Rodgers | 503 |
As you can see, Rodgers needs just five TD passes to catch Favre and obviously only six to take over the No. 4 slot on his own. Barring any sort of serious injury, such as something like tearing an Achilles on the fourth play of the season (sorry, had to do it), Rodgers will easily get this done.
Now, if one were to include the postseason, things actually don't change all that much, as the two are just one apart in that regard, with Rodgers tossing 45 playoffs TDs, with Favre just one back at 44. So, from an overall standpoint, Favre holds a 552-548 advantage.
Now, let's take a quick look back at how Rodgers got to this point, a journey that obviously includes Favre.
The careers of Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre are nearly identical
Favre, of course, was the face of franchise for more than a decade and a half and became one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, earning nine of his 11 career Pro Bowl selections, six All-Pro nods, three NFL MVPs (which came in consecutive fashion), and a Super Bowl ring during his 16-year run in Green Bay, all the while breaking every franchise passing record, including 442 touchdown passes, and making loads of league history in the process.
But in 2005, the Packers started looking toward the future and selected Rodgers with the 24th overall pick of the NFL draft, which didn't sit too well with Favre. The two didn't have the greatest relationship as Favre wasn't really into being any sort of a mentor, famously saying that it wasn't his job to get Rodgers ready to play.
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Three years later, Favre finally decided to retire. A short time after making his announcement, however, he changed his mind.
But by that point, the Packers had already made the decision to move forward with Rodgers and ultimately traded Favre to the New York Jets. Favre spent just one season with Gang Green before closing out his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
Rodgers, meanwhile, carved out his own legacy in Green Bay, winning a Super Bowl of his own while also winning four NFL MVPs and earning 10 Pro Bowl selections and five All-Pro nods in his 15 years as the Packers' starter. During his overall 18-year run with the Packers, he tossed 475 regular-season touchdown passes, knocking Favre down to the No. 2 spot on the franchise leaderboard.
Of course, Rodgers was put in the same situation as Favre was in 2005 when Green Bay drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2020, although he handled things much better, as he actually helped Love develop.
But just like Favre, after three years with Love waiting in the wings, Rodgers was traded to the Jets, with whom he spent two seasons. He seemingly wanted to follow in Favre's footsteps by joining the Vikings, but Minnesota wanted no part of it, thus leaving Rodgers essentially no choice but to join the Steelers to close out his career.