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Aaron Rodgers is looking for a job as an NFL quarterback in 2025. Aaron Rodgers is 41 years old. These two facts are inextricable from one another, as the market for 41-year-old quarterbacks is slim indeed after the New York Jets announced they’re moving on from him after two disappointing seasons. But it’s not nonexistent! Several current and future Hall of Fame quarterbacks have put up some highly productive seasons after age 40. What does their track record portend for Rodgers’ chances of enjoying more touchdowns, celebrations, and gloating at the haters?
It’s worth noting that very few quarterbacks even take snaps in their 40s. Many of the most productive quarterbacks in NFL history retired after their age-37 (Matt Ryan), age-38 (John Elway, Eli Manning, Dan Marino) or age-39 (Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger) seasons. So the fact that Rodgers was even upright at all last season defied odds. But how much longer can he go? Let’s take a look at some of the other notable 40-something quarterbacks in NFL history and see what we can learn.
George Blanda (Career: 1949-1975)
Age-41 season: 1 game started, 522 yards passing, 6 TDs, 2 INTs
The story: Blanda’s career is a wild ride from quarterback to kicker to retirement and back and forth again. By his 40s, he was largely irrelevant as a quarterback, but he finished second in MVP voting in his age-43 season after leading comebacks with both his arm and his leg. Since it’s unlikely Rodgers will switch to kicking, Blanda’s career arc is probably safe.
Tom Brady (Career: 2000-2022)
Age-41 season: 16 games, 4,355 yards passing, 29 TDs, 11 INTs
The story: The unicorn. In his age-41 year, Brady was coming off an MVP season, and all he did was take New England to a Super Bowl championship. He would then go on to play another four seasons, winning yet another Super Bowl. In his age-44 season, all he did was lead the league in attempts, completions and yardage, finishing second in MVP voting — to Rodgers, of all people. Brady is and will forever be the outlier, but every quarterback who hits his late 30s now thinks he’s the benchmark.
Drew Brees (Career: 2001-2020)
Age-41 season: 12 games started, 2,942 yards passing, 24 TDs, 6 INTs
The story: Brees, the Saints legend and future Hall of Famer, retired after his age-41 season, when it became clear that his effectiveness had declined relative to his massive contract. He suffered dropoffs in most major statistical categories, and just one year after being named to the Pro Bowl, and two years after finishing runner-up in MVP voting, he was done.
Steve DeBerg (Career: 1978-1998)
Age-41 season: Retired
The story: DeBerg retired in 1993 in his age-39 season, then came out of retirement five years later at age 44 to join the Falcons as a backup to Chris Chandler. He played in eight games, started one, threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and ended his career for good on a Super Bowl roster.
Brett Favre (Career: 1991-2010)
Age-41 season: 13 games started, 2,509 yards passing, 11 TDs, 19 INTs
The story: Like Brees, Favre retired after his age-41 season, with his effectiveness in severe decline. However, he did go from the Packers to the Jets to the Vikings, so he blazed a career path for Rodgers in that way.
Doug Flutie (Career: 1968-2005)
Age-41 season: 7 games, 1,097 yards passing, 9 TDs, 4 INTs
The story: Flutie’s age-41 season was his last reasonably productive one, playing for San Diego. He played for another two years for the Chargers and Patriots, but never really had any substantial presence in the game again.
Warren Moon (Career: 1984-2000)
Age-41 season: 15 games, 3,678 yards passing, 25 TDs, 16 INTs
The story: Moon had a solid age-41 season, making the Pro Bowl and putting up respectable numbers for the Seahawks. Moon would go on to play three more seasons, but only one of them — his age-42 season — was anything more than cameos. Moon played a long, long time, but Father Time ran him down at about this point, too.
Vinny Testaverde (Career: 1987-2007)
Age-41 season: 16 games, 3,532 yards passing, 17 TDs, 20 INTs
The story: Testaverde’s age-41 season was his last as a reliable starter, in that season for the Cowboys. He would go on to play another three seasons for three different teams — Jets, Patriots, Panthers — and never played in more than seven games a year. He was still reasonably productive in his age-41 year — a little too productive in terms of interceptions, where he led the league — but tailed off in a hurry after that.
So there it is. The chances that Rodgers will succeed at age 41 are not large, but they’re also not zero, either. All he has to do is emulate the greatest quarterback of all time. Easy enough, right?
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