Aaron Rodgers made NFL history on Sunday, but it’s not the kind he’ll be bragging about when his career is over. During New York’s game against Buffalo, Rodgers set the NFL record for most sacks taken in a career.
The record was previously held by Tom Brady, who was sacked 565 times over the course of his 23-year career (OUCH). Going into Week 17, Rodgers had been sacked 564 times in his career. After taking a sack for a safety in the first half against the Bills, Rodgers tied Brady’s record, and then he broke it in the third quarter on a play where he got taken down by Gregory Rousseau.
Rodgers also got sacked again in the third quarter, which means he’s now at 567 for his career. Including those three sacks, Rodgers has been taken down 36 times this year, which pushed him past Brady for the career record.
Although Rodgers topped Brady, he;s still slightly behind the unofficial record of 570 sacks, which is held by Fran Tarkenton, according to Pro Football reference. It’s not the official record because Tarkenton’s career started in 1961 and the NFL didn’t start tracking how often a QB was sacked until 1963.
Here’s a look at the most sacked quarterbacks of all time:
1. Fran Tarkenton* (570 — Unofficial)
2. Aaron Rodgers (567)
3. Tom Brady (565)
4. Russell Wilson (556)
5. Ben Roethlisberger (554)
If Rodgers gets sacked just four more times before the end of the season, there will be no dispute about who the most sacked QB of all-time is.
Although Rodgers has now passed Brady, he might not hold the record for long and that’s because Russell Wilson could potentially catch him. Wilson has taken the fourth most sacks in NFL history and at 36, he’ll likely be playing for a few more seasons. On the other hand, Rodgers could end up retiring after the 2024 season, and even if he sticks around for another year, it’s hard to see him playing past the 2025 season.
