Aaron Rodgers: Ranking the All-Time Greats as He Approaches His Final Season

Where Aaron Rodgers currently ranks among all-time quarterbacks as he heads into final season

Rodgers' place among the greatest players at his position is secure

By Bryan DeArdo

May 21, 2026 at 1:01 pm ET • 17 min read

- - -

While it took several months for Aaron Rodgers to figure out his status for the 2026 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback has already determined that the upcoming season will be the final one in a career that will one day be immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

By coming back for another season, the 42-year-old Rodgers will have a chance to move up even further in the NFL record book. He's 13 touchdown passes away from passing Peyton Manning and into third place in career touchdown passes. Rodgers is also less than 4,000 yards away from joining Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and former teammate Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in history to throw for over 70,000 yards.

Rodgers' legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time is already secure, but where does he rank among the best players at his position? To find out, we decided to rank the top-40 quarterbacks in NFL history by using the following criteria:

- Individual accolades - Records set - Team success - Enduring legacy

40. Roman Gabriel

Gabriel beat out contemporary John Hadl for the final spot largely because he threw significantly fewer interceptions. The 1969 NFL MVP, Gabriel, won Comeback Player of the Year four years later after winning his first passing title at age 33.

39. Bob Griese

An eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Griese was also the first quarterback to start in three straight Super Bowls. But he attempted just 18 total passes during Miami's two Super Bowl wins with him under center. He also made just six starts during the Dolphins' perfect 1972 season.

38. George Blanda

Owner of one of the most unique careers in NFL history, Blanda's career spanned a record 26 seasons and included a stint as a linebacker with the  Bears  early in his career. A three-time AFL champion with the Oilers, Blanda is the last quarterback to throw seven touchdown passes in a game, doing so during a win over the  Titans  in 1961. Blanda was also a prolific kicker who became the first player to score over 2,000 career points.

37. Matt Ryan

The Falcons' new president of football operations, Ryan, enjoyed a highly successful 15-year playing career that included 14 years in Atlanta. In 2016, Ryan won league MVP while nearly leading the Falcons to their first Super Bowl title. He's ninth all-time in career passing yards and 10th all-time in career touchdown passes.

36. Bobby Layne

One of the NFL's original gunslingers, Layne led the Lions to the franchise's first two championships in 1952 and 1953. He capped off his career by going 27-19-2 in five seasons with the Steelers , who had just two winning seasons before he arrived in 1958.

35. Norm Van Brocklin

Van Brocklin helped revolutionize the quarterback position during the 1960s. After leading the Rams to the NFL title game in 1950, Van Brocklin capped off his career by leading the Eagles to a win over Vince Lombardi's Packers in the 1960 NFL title game.

34. Joe Namath

Namath's career is defined by his role in arguably the biggest upset in the history of American professional sports. In Super Bowl III, Namath led the AFL champion Jets to a 16-7 win over the NFL champion Colts , who were 18-point favorites. Namath's career accolades also include being the first player in AFL/NFL history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season.

33. Eli Manning

In many ways, Manning is the 21st-century version of Namath. While his stats don't stack up to those of other quarterbacks on this list, Manning's excellence in two successful playoff runs makes up for it. He played a key role in the greatest upset since Super Bowl III when the Giants upset the then-undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. It was the first of two Manning-led Super Bowl wins against the NFL's preeminent team of the century.

32. Matthew Stafford

While his three Pro Bowl nods are underwhelming, nothing else about Stafford's career is. A Super Bowl champion with the Rams, Stafford is sixth all-time in career passing yards and seventh in career touchdown passes. He essentially locked up a future spot in Canton, Ohio, this past season by virtue of winning league MVP.

31. Josh Allen

Longevity is the only reason why Allen isn't higher on this list. A four-time Pro Bowler, Allen has earned a spot on this list after winning his first league MVP at the end of the 2024 season. A Super Bowl win would do wonders for Allen and his legacy.

30. Philip Rivers

During his 18-year career, Rivers led the NFL in passing yards (2010), touchdown passes (2008), completion percentage (2013), completions and attempts (2015) and average yards gained per pass attempt twice (2008-09). Rivers' most memorable NFL moment -- outside of his unbelievable comeback last season after a four-year hiatus -- may have been his gritty performance against the then-undefeated Patriots in the 2007 AFC title game while playing with a torn ACL.

29. Warren Moon

Moon started his career in Canada before finally getting his shot in the NFL with the Oilers at age 28. Moon spearheaded a resurgence in Houston (who were just 13-35 in his first three seasons) that included seven consecutive playoff berths. Moon, whose patented deep ball helped him win back-to-back passing titles later in his career, was third all-time in career passing yards (behind only Dan Marino and John Elway) at the time of his retirement.

28. Len Dawson

Dawson was the Drew Brees of his era, accuracy-wise. He led his league in completion percentage eight times, including six consecutive seasons in the 1960s and a final time in 1975 (his final season) at the age of 40. Dawson quarterbacked the  Chiefs  in Super Bowl I and was named MVP of Super Bowl IV, the final game played before the AFL-NFL merger.

27. Ken Anderson

Anderson's career has often been overlooked because he played in an era that included several other iconic quarterbacks. One of the most efficient quarterbacks of his or any era, Anderson led the NFL in passing yards twice, completion percentage three times and in 1981 won league MVP while leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance. A finalist for the Hall of Fame this past year, Anderson would undoubtedly already be in the Hall of Fame had the Bengals defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.

26. Sonny Jerguson

Jerguson took passing to a new level in the 1960s, winning five passing titles. In 1967, Jerguson became the first quarterback in history to attempt 500 passes in a season. His 82.62 career passer rating was the best in NFL history before 1978, when the NFL made several rule changes to help advance the passing game.

25. Dan Fouts

Fouts' career took off as soon as Don Coryell became his head coach. It was quite simply a perfect marriage, as Fouts mastered Coryell's pass-happy offense to the tune of four consecutive passing titles. Fouts was also the winning quarterback in one of the greatest games in NFL history, a 41-38 overtime win over the Dolphins in the 1981 playoffs, dubbed the "Epic in Miami " appropriately.

24. Jim Kelly

Kelly led the  Bills ' appropriately-named "K-Gun" offense that appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls, an  NFL  record. One of 18 quarterbacks with 100 career wins, Kelly led the  NFL  in completion percentage and passer rating in 1990 and in touchdown passes in 1991.

23. Sammy Baugh

The modern-day quarterback can be traced back to Baugh, who led the NFL in completion percentage 8 times during his 16-year career. In 1945, Baugh became the first quarterback to complete over 70% of his passes in a season. He led Washington to NFL titles in 1937 (his rookie season) and in 1942.

22. Ken Stabler

"The Snake" won the NFL MVP Award in 1974 while leading a Raiders offense that featured a record seven future Hall of Famers. Two years later, Stabler led the Raiders to the franchise's first Super Bowl win that included an AFC title game victory over the two-time defending champion Steelers. Stabler's name is synonymous with two of the most famous TD passes in history: the  "Sea of Hands"  and the  "Holy Roller."

21. Y.A. Tittle

Tittle was part of the  49ers ' legendary "Million Dollar Backfield" during the 1950s. He ended his career with the  Giants , including one of the greatest seasons in NFL history. At age 37, Tittle led the NFL in completion percentage, touchdown passes and passer rating while leading New York to an NFL Championship game appearance.

20. Lamar Jackson

Given his lack of longevity, you could argue that Jackson may be ranked a tad too high on this list. For me, though, Jackson's legacy as the greatest running quarterback in NFL history, in addition to having the highest passer rating in league annals, more than justifies his spot in the top-20.

Jackson could eventually be a top-15 or even a top-10 QB of all time if he ever wins a Super Bowl.

19. Kurt Warner

Warner's story was so unbelievable that it was actually made into a movie . Warner toiled as a grocery store clerk before finding success in the Arena Football League, then got an opportunity with the Rams. Warner then seized his opportunity to play when an injury ended then-Rams starting QB Trent Green's season during the 1999 preseason.

Warner quickly took the NFL by storm, becoming the first QB in history to throw three touchdowns in each of his first three starts. He capped off his storybook season by winning MVP honors in Super Bowl XXXIV on the strength of his game-winning touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce .

Warner won two league MVP awards and played in two more Super Bowls. While his team lost both times, Warner threw for the second- and third-highest totals in Super Bowl history at that time (his 414 yards in the Rams' Super Bowl win over the Titans was the highest single-game total at the time).

18. Ben Roethlisberger

"Big Ben" started his career by going 13-0 as Pittsburgh's starter during his rookie season, the best mark ever by a rookie quarterback. Roethlisberger followed that up a year later by becoming the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl, as the Steelers became the first six-seed to win it all. Three years later, Roethlisberger capped off one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time by completing one of the most clutch passes in NFL history when he hit Santonio Holmes for the game-winning score.

Roethlisberger was named to six Pro Bowls and is fifth all-time in career passing yards and eighth in career touchdown passes. He's the only player in history with three games with at least 500 passing yards. He had back-to-back games with six touchdown passes back in 2014.

17. Troy Aikman

Winning largely defines Aikman's legacy. He was the first QB to win three Super Bowls in four years. In his first Super Bowl, Aikman won MVP honors after going 22 of 30 for 273 yards and four touchdowns in leading Dallas to a 52-17 win over Buffalo. Aikman's 70% career Super Bowl completion percentage stood as the all-time best mark until it was recently broken by Eagles quarterback  Jalen Hurts .

16. Bart Starr

The leader of the Packers' 1960s dynasty, Starr has a unique place in NFL history as the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. Starr (who led the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating four times) also authored one of the most iconic plays in NFL history on his quarterback sneak that sealed the Packers' win in the 1967 NFL title game, also known as the "Ice Bowl."

15. Fran Tarkenton

Tarkenton started and ended his career in Minnesota, where he led the  Vikings  to three NFC titles over four years. Tarkenton (nicknamed "Scrambling Fran" for his peerless elusiveness in and out of the pocket) was a Pro Bowler in four of his five seasons with the Giants. He

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron-rodgers-ranking-among-all-time-nfl-quarterbacks/)._