No position on the football field is more crucial than the quarterback. If your team doesn’t have a good one, you can forget about winning a Super Bowl.
It’s why every starter in the league is automatically regarded as the face of their franchise – and why each of them operates under a brighter spotlight than any other player in the locker room.
Some quarterbacks are praised for being role models, others are lambasted for weighing in on controversial political issues, goading rival supporters or irritating their own fans with a lack of commitment or professionalism.
So which signal callers are most adored in America? And which of them are most despised?
DailyMail+ today unveils its Power List of the nation’s favorite NFL quarterbacks, which features 10 of the best in the league right now.
Based on exclusive polling, our Power List captures public sentiment around likeability, trustworthiness, perceived bias and knowledge. So here are the results…
DailyMail+ today unveils its Power List of the nation’s favorite NFL quarterbacks, which features 10 of the best in the league right now
While it’s a fiercely-contested battle for top spot, there’s no debate about which quarterback America most loathes.
Aaron Rodgers sits rock bottom of our Power List, finishing dead last in six of the seven categories, with the 41-year-old veteran’s only saving grace the fact he was ranked the seventh most knowledgeable.
Rodgers, who is gearing up for his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was voted the least likeable, least fun and least truthful quarterback of the lot, as well as the most biased.
Fans also decided he gives off the least positive vibes, and that they’d like to hang out with every other player on the list more than him.
Rodgers’ ranking didn’t come as a surprise to one of his former New York Jets teammates, who branded the quarterback and his controversial views a ‘distraction.’
See full Power List NFL quarterback rankings in our interactive tool
‘Aaron isn’t a bad guy, but he’s just his own worst enemy sometimes,’ the player told DailyMail+. ‘You don’t have to share everything that comes to mind; if you know that you have controversial views, you don’t have to share them on a podcast.
‘I don’t want to be asked about my quarterback’s views on vaccines; I want to be asked about football. We were playing bad, our record was in the s*****r, and no one wanted to talk about football, they wanted to talk about what he said about Jimmy Kimmel. He missed camp and was in Egypt, literally bumf*** Egypt, when we should have been working to be a better team.
‘I think he’s spoiled and self-centered, but not a terrible person. I can see why he’s hated by people, though. It makes sense to me.’
At the other end of the rankings is Los Angeles Rams star Matthew Stafford, who just about saw off competition from Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes to snatch top spot.
Stafford was deemed the most likeable and truthful quarterback in the NFL by voters. He also came in the top three of four other categories, with his only downfall a fifth-place result in the most knowledgeable standings.
The 2021 Super Bowl champion, whose wife Kelly is an internet personality with 426k followers on Instagram, recently signed a new $84million contract with the Rams to take his career earnings to more than $360m after 17 seasons in the NFL.
Click below to see how NFL quarterbacks ranked in each category
Mahomes may be the most-decorated quarterback of the pack, having hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three times, but he failed to come out on top in our Power List.
In fact, he couldn’t even clinch second place, getting edged out by Hurts for a second time this year.
Mahomes, who suffered Super Bowl heartbreak at the hands of Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in February, came in third, despite being ranked the most knowledgeable.
Nevertheless, the 29-year-old at least managed to best his Eagles rival in one category: Good Hang.
Our Power List reveals that football fans would most like to spend time with the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, which comes as somewhat of a surprise given the public opinion of his wife, Brittany.
Brittany Mahomes has found herself the target of NFL fans’ backlash throughout her husband’s career for her gameday antics, which they have perceived to be too loud and obnoxious.
The mother-of-three also sparked a meltdown last summer when she was spotted liking a social media post about Donald Trump in the lead up to the 2024 Presidential Election.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, pictured with wife Kelly, topped the list
Reigning Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts narrowly missed out on the top spot to Stafford
Aaron Rodgers sits rock bottom of our Power List finishing last in six of the seven categories
However, despite Brittany coming under fire in the past, the childhood sweethearts have cemented themselves as somewhat of an NFL power couple over the past year amid their friendship with Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift.
Reigning Super Bowl champion Hurts had to settle for second place in our Power List despite finishing in the top three of all but two categories.
Voters opted for the Philadelphia Eagles hero as the quarterback they feel most positive about and the most fun.
He also ranked as the second most knowledgeable, the third most likeable and the third least political out of all 10 signal callers.
Down at the bottom of the pile with Rodgers is Washington Commanders sensation Jayden Daniels, who enjoyed a breathtaking rookie campaign in 2024.
The 24-year-old’s low profile outside of hardcore football fans is likely to have contributed to his ninth-place Power List ranking.
Despite a breathtaking rookie season, Jayden Daniels slid to the bottom of the pile
Three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes (R) earned the top score in knowledgeability
Supporters simply don’t know him well enough yet, which perhaps explains why his highest finish in any category was fifth (least biased).
Daniels came in as the least knowledgeable of the bunch, the second least fun and the third least truthful. Rodgers and San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy were the only quarterbacks fans would like to spend time with least.
Purdy burst onto the scene with a Cinderella rookie season in 2022. After being drafted by the Niners with the 262nd – and final – pick, the Iowa State product earned the moniker ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’
But after multiple injury blows to the 49ers’ quarterback room, Purdy was thrust into the starting role and led Kyle Shanahan’s depleted team to the NFC Championship game as a rookie.
The 25-year-old has continued to lead San Francisco under center, earning himself a five-year, $265million contract extension this offseason.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who married actress Hailee Steinfeld earlier this year, came in at fourth, with Joe Burrow, who is believed to be in a relationship with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Olivia Ponton, hot on his heels.
Josh Allen, who married Marvel actress Hailee Steinfeld (right) this year, was voted fourth
The fashionable Joe Burrow was ranked third from last in likeability and neutrality
Allen, who recently signed a blockbuster six-year, $330 million contract extension with the Bills, has reached the AFC Championship game twice in his career but has failed to make it to the Super Bowl, falling at the final hurdle both times to the Chiefs.
The reigning MVP ranked fourth in knowledgeability and likability, while he was fans’ second most-favorite pick to spend time with.
Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow, known for his outlandish gameday outfits, was voted America’s fifth favorite signal caller.
Burrow, who reached the Super Bowl with the Bengals in 2022, ranked third from last in likeability and neutrality, but was voted the NFL’s third most fun quarterback.
Meanwhile, Jared Goff, who is responsible for turning around the fortunes of the Detroit Lions, slotted into the middle of the pack at sixth after helping to restore hope to Motor City. And Jordan Love, who replaced Rodgers in Green Bay, narrowly avoided joining his Packers predecessor at rock bottom with an eighth-place finish in our Power List.
Last month we launched the DailyMail+ Power List by revealing the best-loved (and most loathed) morning-show hosts and news media stars.
Last week, we ranked the sports analysts who divide the opinion of millions of fans across the country and revealed the the most popular power player in Donald Trump’s inner circle.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll bring you our power list rankings for more figures in the world of media, US politics, fashion and sport.
