Former Cal QB Aaron Rodgers cracks Forbes top 50 highest paid athletes for 2020

We all know the story of Aaron Rodgers. We all know the type of success that he’s gone on to achieve in his days post-Cal. We all know the story of how he got to Cal.

We all chatted about what would happen if Rodgers had chosen a law degree instead of football.

What we all didn’t know is just how high he was going to rank on the 2020 earners list, annually put out by Forbes. On their list of highest-paid athletes for their calendar year of 2019-2020, Rodgers earned $30.1M, ranking him 45th among the world’s athletes.

He cracks the top 50 overall, joining his fellow Cal alum in Jared Goff, and finds himself ranking ninth among all NFL players, sixth among quarterbacks and 27th among all US-based athletes.

Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was first in the NFL at No. 9 overall earning a reported $60.5M, followed by Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz (10th — $59.1M), Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff (15th — $49M), Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady (21st — $45M), New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees (22nd — $44.8M), Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones (26th — $40.5M), Atlanta Falcons DT Grady Jarrett (37th — $33.1M) and New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (39th $32.4M).

Rodgers finished at 45th overall, reported to earn his salary and winnings of $21.1M and endorsements totaling $9M.

The rest of the NFL athletes went as follows:

47th — Falcons QB Matt Ryan ($29.5M)
59th — San Francisco 49ers DE Arik Armstead ($26.8M)
63rd — Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey ($26.5)
65th — Philadelphia Eagles CB Darius Slay ($26.1M)
74th — Seattle Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner ($25M)
75th — Dallas Cowboys WR Amari Cooper ($24.9M)
77th — Chicago Bears DE Robert Quinn ($24.7M)
80th — Cincinnati Bengals CB Trae Waynes ($24.3M)
81st — Falcons DE Dante Fowler Jr. ($24.2M)
83rd — Oakland Raiders QB Marcus Mariota ($23.9M)
T85th — 49ers DE Nick Bosa ($23.7M)
T85th — Carolina Panthers LB Shaq Thompson ($23.7M)
88th — Indianapolis Colts QB Philip Rivers ($23.4M)
89th — Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott ($23.3M)
91st — Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger ($23M)
92nd — Saints T Andrus Peat ($22.7M)
T94th — Houston Texans DT D.J. Reader ($22.4M)
T94th — New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams ($22.4M)
97th — Free Agent QB Cam Newton ($22.2M)
98th — Jacksonville Jaguars DE Calais Campbell ($22.1M)
99th — Raiders QB Derek Carr ($22M)

Rodgers has earned a reported $233.6M over his career and if he plays through his contract with the Green Bay Packers, could earn $313M, which would put him past former New York Giants QB Eli Manning for the most career earnings all-time.

His two-year Cal career saw him complete 424 passes for 5,469 yards and 43 touchdowns before joining the Packers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He has since earned multiple MVP awards, a Super Bowl Championship and multiple All-Pro selections as well as a hand full of other highly-decorated awards.