Aaron Rodgers let the world know during his latest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that the 2025 season — his 21st in the league — would likely be his last. Given the relatively modest salary he agreed to play for and his status as a sure-thing, first-ballot future Hall of Famer, it’s clear Rodgers is hoping to go out on his own terms after a rough two-year stint in New York.
Today, I want to look at 10 great QBs and how their final seasons played out before retirement in an effort to see what Rodgers’ final year might have in store.
I will label them under three categories based mostly on their personal performance: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good
Tom Brady (2022)
Brady didn’t go out with a bang in terms of team success, but he put the entire team on his shoulders with the most pass attempts and completions of his career. Nearly 4,700 passing yards and 25 TDs at 45 years old is enough to fall into the good category, even if his team limped into the playoffs and got smacked by the Dallas Cowboys.
John Elway (1998)
Elway had a final year that couldn’t have been better scripted in Hollywood if they tried. With a 10-2 record in the regular season, Elway had the best passing efficiency of his career with a 7.11 ANY/A and put an exclamation mark on the whole thing by winning Super Bowl MVP with 336 passing yards and two total TDs.
Peyton Manning (2015)
I struggled with where to place Manning in this mix, but his doing enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy puts him in the top category by default. It was one of the few years he didn’t make the Pro Bowl, as he started just nine games with nine TDs and 17 INTs. He did just enough late in the season and in the playoffs to win his second Super Bowl championship.
Manning showed that even a shell of a Hall of Fame QB can be the difference in January.
Joe Montana (1994)
Montana was the unquestioned G.O.A.T. until Brady came along, and he finished off his career on a high note despite a sluggish last few seasons after his elbow injury. At 38 years old, he led his team to a 9-5 record with 3,283 passing yards and 16 TDs to just 9 INTs. They were one and done in the playoffs, but he managed to go out on his own terms with a strong season.
The Bad
Ben Roethlisberger (2021)
In his final season, Roethlisberger was the king of the checkdown and screen pass. The Steelers made it to the playoffs, but only because Roethlisberger had seven game-winning drives and six fourth-quarter comebacks that season to will them to a 9-7 record. His ANY/A of 5.43 was among the lowest figures of his career, and his TD production took a nosedive despite a similar number of pass attempts overall. They got worked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to send him off.
Drew Brees (2020)
Injuries got the best of Brees in his final season. He was still productive when healthy, but he only managed to play in 12 of 16 regular-season games with a torn rotator cuff, torn fascia, a collapsed lung, and 11 broken ribs. He was 41 years old that season, the same age as Rodgers in 2025.
The Ugly
Eli Manning (2019)
Manning’s decision was effectively made for him as he was benched in favor of Daniel Jones. He came back briefly, but the New York Giants were bad, and quarterback play was one of the main reasons why. In four starts, Manning had 1,042 passing yards, six TDs, and five INTs. Even if he wanted to continue his career and go out on a high note, I’m not sure there would have been any takers.
Brett Favre (2010)
After having one of the best seasons of his career in 2009 with the Minnesota Vikings at 40 years old, Favre fell off a cliff with a 2,509-yard, 11-TD, 19-INT season in 13 starts as he dealt with injuries. The Vikings were pretty close to heading to the Super Bowl the year prior, and didn’t even qualify in Favre’s final season. He was (literally) knocked out of the league at 41 years old.
Dan Marino (1999)
Dan Marino tailed off towards the end of his career in general, but 1999 was a particularly tough season for him. In 11 starts, he had 2,448 passing yards, 12 TDs and 17 INTs. It was the lowest ANY/A of his career. To make matters worse, his final game was a lopsided 62-7 trouncing handed to him by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He had two interceptions and two fumbles in that game.
Terry Bradshaw (1983)
Bradshaw snapped a ligament in his elbow in his final season, prematurely ending his career after just one game in 1983. He was 35 at the time and suffered some pretty poor seasons over his final few in the early 1980s after the four-Super Bowl dynasty in the 70s. Players have a higher chance of injury the older they get. That is perhaps the biggest fear for Rodgers’ last go of things at 41 years old.
Whether Rodgers lands in the “Good,” “Bad,” or “Ugly” column remains to be seen. But history shows one thing clearly: Few legends get the ending they want. And even fewer get to write it themselves.
