The NFL staff at Bleacher Report recently released its annual ranking of the top 99 quarterbacks of all time, and the Green Bay Packers were well-represented near the top of the list, with a trio of Titletown legends taking three of the top 14 spots. And Cheeseheads everywhere certainly know who we mean.
But before we get to the greatest QB triumvirate in league history, also included among the top 99 were three others who donned the Green & Gold during their careers, though each made the list for the success they achieved elsewhere.
Counting down, we start with Jim McMahon (No. 81), who played the final two seasons of his career in Green Bay in 1995 and 1996 but obviously made his name with the rival Chicago Bears. Then, there's Matt Hasselbeck (No. 65), who spent three years with the Packers from 1998 to 2000 before a solid 10-year run with the Seattle Seahawks. And lastly, there's John Hadl, who remains one of the greatest QBs in Chargers history and also earned First-Team All-Pro honors with the Rams before spending parts of two seasons in Green Bay in 1974 and 1975.
Now, let's get to the main event.
Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers combined to win four Super Bowls and eight NFL MVPs
The three legendary Packers quarterbacks in question, of course, are Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers. And as it turns out, going from bottom to top, the list has them ranked in the order in which they made their mark in Green Bay, with Starr at No. 14, Favre at No. 7, and Rodgers at No. 5.
Bart Starr (No. 14)
The only one of the three to spend his entire career in Titletown, Starr spent 16 years with the organization as a player (1956-1971)—he also served as head coach and GM once his playing days were over—and led Green Bay to five NFL Championships, the final two of which preceded the Packers' victories in the first two Super Bowls. The Alabama alum took MVP honors in both of those victories in what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
From an individual standpoint, Starr was a four-time Pro Bowler, a four-time All-Pro selection, a four-time passer rating leader, a four-time completion percentage leader, and was named NFL MVP of the 1966 season.
Brett Favre (No. 7)
Brett Favre spent 16 of his 20 NFL seasons in Green Bay, joining the franchise in 1992 after spending his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons.
When Don Majkowski went down with an injury early in that '92 campaign, Favre stepped in and never looked back, ultimately leading the Packers to two Super Bowl appearances, winning the first but losing the second, 11 playoff berths, four NFC Championship Games, and seven division titles, all while famously never missing a single game due to injury.
Favre became the first ever to win NFL MVP three years in a row (1995-1997), and including his one-year stint with the New York Jets and his two-season run with the Minnesota Vikings, he earned 11 trips to the Pro Bowl and six total All-Pro selections. His 71,838 career passing yards rank fourth all-time, while his 508 touchdown passes are good for the fifth-most in history.
Aaron Rodgers (No. 5)
Rodgers, of course, spent the first three years of his career sitting behind Favre after the Packers took him in the first round of the 2005 draft with the 24th overall pick.
The Cal alum took over as QB1 in 2008, and over the next 15 years, he led Green Bay to 11 playoff berths, eight NFC North crowns, five NFC Championship Game appearances, and a victory in Super Bowl 45 over his future employer, the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning MVP honors after completing 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He never one-upped Favre with a second Lombardi, but he did win one more NFL MVP, with his four awards trailing only Peyton Manning's five.
Taking his own stint with the Jets into account, as well as this past year in Pittsburgh, Rodgers sits one spot behind Favre on the all-time passing yards list with 66,274, but sits one slot ahead of him on the all-time TD passes list with 527.