Most professional athletes get to where they are because of the confidence they have in themselves and a work ethic to make it happen. But not everybody has their sights set on being the best there ever was. And even fewer come anywhere close to realizing that. For Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers, that has always been the goal.
“I wanted to be the best,” Rodgers told a fan at a Mike Stud concert last month when asked about his career motivation. “When I was six years old, I watched Joe Montana lead the Niners down on the drive in the Super Bowl. That’s what I wanted to do. But I didn’t just want to be good. I wanted to be the best. My motivation is never to just be average.”
Tom Brady and his seven Super Bowl rings edge out the rest of the quarterback field, but Rodgers has certainly laid his own claim to being one of the best of all time.
Rodgers’ career passer rating is the best ever at 102.6, which is even more impressive given his longevity entering his 21st season. He also has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio at 4.34:1. The next closest is Lamar Jackson at 3.39:1. His four league MVP awards put him in rarified air behind only Peyton Manning. He only has one Super Bowl win, which drags his legacy down a notch, but he is one of the most statistically impressive QBs to ever do it.
Rodgers cited his childhood favorite athletes like Joe Montana and Michael Jordan and said he strived to be like them.
“In sports, there’s a lot of motivation. Could be money, could be the fame, prestige, but when it comes down to it, there’s nothing better than the end result,” Rodgers said. “Having the awareness that it took all these little moments to get there. When I was in high school and nobody knew who I was and I was getting recruited by the smallest schools in California that you’ve never heard of, it didn’t stop me from waking up at 5:30, going to the gym, working out, staying afterwards, throwing.”
This 2025 season with the Steelers could very well be his NFL swan song. In a lot of ways, this year is all about his love for the game and wanting to prove to the world that he isn’t the five-win quarterback who played for the New York Jets last year. He addressed his teammates after signing with the Steelers and told them he is all-in. That means the early mornings of keeping his body in top shape, the extra practice sessions with teammates ahead of training camp and even a meeting with Arthur Smith over the summer to work out the finer details of the offensive playbook.
It’s a legacy season for Aaron Rodgers, and his motivation has never changed – he wants to be the best.
