Aaron Rodgers biography

Synopsis

Early Career

Football player. Born in Chico, California, on December 2, 1973, Aaron Charles Rodgers was the second of Ed and Darla Rodgers' three sons. Football was an early love for Aaron, who at age of 2 was able to sit silently and watch an entire NFL game. At the age of 5, he could pick out different football formations on the television screen and throw a football through a hanging tire.

While Rodgers excelled at football at Pleasant Valley High School, setting a variety of school passing records, coming from a small town like Chico hurt his college prospects. Unable to land a Division I scholarship, he enrolled at Butte College, a junior college in nearby Oroville, California, in 2002.

During his one year at Butte, Rodgers led the school to a 10-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking. He was also named his conference's MVP. His success with the program caught the eye of scouts at the University of California at Berkeley, and the following season, Rodgers enrolled at the college and became the club's starter.

During his two years at Berkeley, Rodgers led a vaunted offense that propelled him to break a number of school records and helped make him a Heisman finalist in 2004. Still, even while garnering praise for his passing attack, Rodgers, who bypassed his final year at Cal to enter the 2005 NFL draft and was one of college football's top prospects, saw his fortunes sink on draft night. Despite being considered a top 10—maybe even top five—pick, he lasted until the 24th selection of the first round, when the Green Bay Packers selected him.

Professional Career

For Rodgers, coming to Green Bay meant sitting and watching the team's starting quarterback, Brett Favre, an ironman of a football player who'd started every game for the Packers since 1992.

Finally, in 2008, after Green Bay elected not to re-sign the then 38-year-old Favre, Rodgers got his chance to quarterback Green Bay as a starter. Rodgers did not waver, manning QB duties for all 16 regular season games while throwing for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Two years later, Rodgers endeared himself to Green Bay fans and proved he was one of the game's elite quarterbacks, when he steered the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLVII. On the big stage, Rodgers earned MVP honors, completing 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and notching three touchdowns.

Rodgers resides in Chico, California.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.