Instant New York Times Bestseller

"A masterwork. ... O'Connor answers every question, deftly and deeply, that we've had about the most controversial person in America's biggest game." —Peter King

In this definitive sports biography, four-time New York Times bestselling author Ian O’Connor pulls back the curtain on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, delivering a complete portrait of the legendary yet mysterious quarterback who has astonished, befuddled, yet always captivated fans of America’s #1 sport.

Aaron Rodgers is among the two or three most talented players to ever hold the most important job in American team sports – quarterback. He also stands as the most mysterious and polarizing figure in the modern-day national pastime, an American football icon like no other.

From his controversial Covid stance to his methods of spiritual awakening, his much-discussed family estrangement, and his high-profile romances to his devastating Achilles injury a mere four plays into his New York Jets career, Rodgers has long dominated the NFL’s news cycle.

At thirty-nine, in search of a challenge that would rejuvenate him, Rodgers left the iconic Green Bay Packers of Vince Lombardi fame for the Jets, who have not appeared in a Super Bowl since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. This compelling chapter in NFL history made Rodgers the biggest story in the biggest league in the biggest market. By far.

That story only got bigger when Rodgers shockingly went down on the night of 9/11, in front of a packed house that roared for him when he took the field carrying an American flag, and in front of the biggest Monday Night Football audience in ESPN history, peaking at more than 25 million viewers across all platforms. Rodgers then shocked the world by pulling off the fastest recorded comeback from an Achilles tear, returning to practice eleven weeks after surgery. Remarkably enough, he would have played again in the 2023 season, at age 40, had the Jets remained in playoff contention.

Drawing on hundreds of original interviews for this landmark Aaron Rodgers biography, Ian O’Connor pulls back the curtain to answer the most penetrating questions about the league’s most enigmatic player. Just like he did in his defining bios of Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Derek Jeter, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer, O’Connor reveals all sides of an all-time great and delivers a portrait of a complex man that will forever shape the way he is viewed.

But who is the real Aaron Rodgers behind the NFL news cycle?

• The Making of a Legend: Follow Rodgers’s unlikely journey from an overlooked college prospect to a four-time NFL MVP with the Green Bay Packers.
• The Brett Favre Succession: Explore the complicated and tense transition of power in Green Bay, as one iconic quarterback replaced another.
• Behind the Controversies: Gain new insight into the events that have made Rodgers a polarizing figure, from his Covid stance to his public family estrangement.
• The New York Jets Saga: Uncover the full story of his dramatic move to New York, the devastating Achilles injury four plays in, and his unprecedented attempt at a comeback.