Cal Sports Report

Aaron Rodgers Wins Fourth MVP, Still Undecided About His Future

Former Cal star said he will make a decision about his future with the Packers 'in the near future'

Jake Curtis

Aaron Rodgers Wins Fourth MVP, Still Undecided About His Future
Aaron Rodgers Wins Fourth MVP, Still Undecided About His Future /
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Former Cal star and current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named the NFL MVP for the fourth time on Thursday night in Los Angeles, becoming only the second player to win the MVP award more than three times.

Rodgers joins Peyton Manning, who was named MVP five times, but it’s uncertain whether Rodgers will have a chance to tie Manning’s record since Rodgers has not decided whether he will remain with the Packers in 2022 or play pro football at all next season.

“I have not made any decision yet,” Rodgers said Thursday night after winning the MVP. “I’ve just been easing into the offseason and excited about being here tonight. Feels like a dream, surreal for sure. Obviously, not how we wanted to finish the season, but to be sitting here as a four-time MVP, it's crazy. I'm so thankful. Like I said in the last press conference, I'll make a decision in due time and not in a ton of time. There’s going to be a decision in the near future and I'm not going keep a lot of people waiting.”

Rodgers broke a tie with four other players who have won three MVPs: Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas and Jim Brown.

Brady finished second in this year’s voting of the Associated Press’ 50-member panel. AP has been naming an NFL MVP every year since 1957 and is considered the “official” MVP award.

Rodgers, who also won the award last year, became the fifth player to be named MVP in consecutive seasons, joining Jim Brown (1957, 1958), Joe Montana (1989, 1990), Brett Favre (1995, 1996, 1997) and Peyton Manning (2003, 2004 and 2008, 2009).

Rodgers' acceptance speech:

The 38-year-old Rodgers is the second-oldest player to win the MVP, behind only Tom Brady, who was 40 when he won the award in 2017.

Only two players in history have ever won MVP unanimously -- Tom Brady in 2010 and Lamar Jackson in 2019 – and it was no surprise that Rodgers was not a unanimous choice this year. One MVP voter, Hub Arkush, said publicly during the season that he would not vote for Rodgers for MVP because of Rodgers off-field behavior during the offseason and Rodgers’ comments during the season. Arkush called Rodgers a "jerk," and Rodgers called Arkush a "bum."

Enough voters evidently dismissed Rodgers’ comments when considering his on-field performances. He led the NFL in passer rating for a second straight season and finished with 37 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. That includes the two interceptions he threw in the 2021 season opener in one of the worst performances of his career. In the final seven games of the regular season, Rodgers threw 20 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

He also led the Packers to the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 13-4 regular-season record (13-2 in games in which Rodgers played more than one half).

The MVP voting ended before the playoffs began so Rodgers’ mediocre performance in Green Bay’s opening postseason game – a 13-10 loss to San Francisco – was not considered.

Aaron Rodgers at ceremony

Rodgers is not alone in his failure to win the Super Bowl this season.

Only nine players in history have won the Super Bowl the same year they were named MVP, and none has done it since 1999, when Kurt Warner pulled off that difficult double with the Rams.

This is the fifth straight year that the MVP did not even reach the Super Bowl.

Rodgers and the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011 (2010 season), but Rodgers did not win the MVP award for the first time until the following season.

Rodgers said Thursday he has not yet announced whether he will play with the Packers next season or whether he will retire from football.

His restructured contract contains language that reportedly will allow him to opt out of the remaining years of his Packers contract and join another team via trade. But he has also said retirement is an option.

Brady recently announced his retirement at age 44, even though he, like Rodgers, was still playing at an elite level in 2021.

Few expect Rodgers to retire, though, and most of the speculation suggests Rodgers will play for the Packers in 2022. In any case, Rodgers is not expected to complain about the Packers’ management this winter as he did in the offseason last year, when he requested a trade. He has praised general manager Brian Gutekunst in recent months, and their relationship apparently has improved substantially.

Rodgers has said he will make a decision before the 2022 League Year begins on March 16, which is also when free agency begins.

Rodgers played at Cal in 2003 and 2004, and he finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2004, one spot behind his Cal teammate, running back J.J. Arrington. Four quarterbacks finished ahead of Rodgers in the 2004 Heisman voting -- USC's Matt Leinart, who won the Heisman that year, Oklahoma's Jason White, Utah's Alex Smith and Auburn's Jason Campbell.

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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