Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the respect of his peers.
That was confirmed again when ESPN asked 300-plus players which quarterback they thought would win the most Super Bowls over the next 10 years.
Rodgers got 20 percent of the vote, followed by Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (18%), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (16%), Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (14%) and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (10%).
Two things strike us as interesting there.
First, the players obviously failed to take into account Ted Thompson’s failure to surround Rodgers with enough talent of late and are basing their judgment entirely on Rodgers’ abilities.
Second, their judgment isn’t really that sound anyway. Tom Brady is 38 years old.
To suggest he’s going to win more Super Bowls than any quarterback over the next 10 years fails to take one very important factor into account.
That, of course, would be time.
How many seasons does Brady have left? One, two, maybe three?
Is he going to play into his early 40s and win the Super Bowl every year for the remainder of his career?
Probably not.
Here’s another interesting note. When the same players were asked which team would make the most Super Bowl appearances over the next 10 years, the Patriots received by far the most support, with 27 percent of the vote.
The Packers were second with 13 percent.
Apparently, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will be leading that team to greatness until the day they die.