Beyond Aaron Rodgers, Who Have Been Cal's Oldest Pros?

At 40 years, 282 days, quarterback Aaron Rodgers already was the oldest Cal alum to play a major professional sport when he stepped on the field with the New York Jets to face the San Francisco 49ers in their Sept. 9, 2024 season opener at Santa Clara.

Having agreed to play another season next fall with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the four-time MVP and sure-fire future Hall of Famer will be 42 years, 285 days old when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Steel City on Sept. 13 for the start of Rodgers’ 22nd season.

That will only extend his margin of longevity beyond the next-oldest Golden Bears to remain active as pros. Next on the list are baseball’s Jeff Kent, who retired at the age of 40 years, 204 days, and basketball Hall of Famer Jason Kidd played his last NBA game at 40 years, 56 days.

No other former Golden Bear has made it to age 40 while playing in the NFL, NBA or MLB.

We don’t know how Rodgers will perform next season. It’s unlikely he can approach his peak years, but he needs just 13 touchdown passes to move ahead of Peyton Manning to third on the all-time list.

Last season, at 41, he completed 65.7 percent of his pass attempts for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His 102.2 career passer rating is tied the highest in NFL history.

In the final five regular-season games after he turned 42 last Dec. 2, he completed 66.5 percent for 1,236 yards with five TDs and no picks and the Steelers went 4-1. But in a 30-6 first-round postseason loss to Houston, Rodgers was 17 for 33 for just 146 yards with no TDs and two turnovers.

Below is a rundown of Golden Bears who made it to 35 years old as as pros, beyond the age most athletes call it a day.

Among those respectfully not included are long snapper LP Ladouceur, who played until 39, long snapper David Binn (38), placekicker Ryan Longwell (38), punter Bryan Anger (37), placekicker Ray Wersching (37), placekicker Jim Breech (36) and placekicker Doug Brien (35).

Here goes:

Jeff Kent (40): The National League’s MVP in 2000 with the Giants, Kent played his final season in 2008 for the Dodgers, batting .280 with 23 doubles, 12 home runs 59 RBIs in 474 plate appearances over 121 games for a team that won NL West title.

Jason Kidd (40): The 10-time All-Star point guard played his final season in 2012-13 with the New York Knicks. He averaged 6.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists, playing 27 minutes per game in 76 outings for a team that won the NBA’s Atlantic Division.

Craig Morton (39): The first quarterback to start for two different teams in the Super Bowl, Morton played played 207 games over 18 seasons. He started the only three games he played with the Denver Broncos in his final season of 1982, retiring a year before John Elway arrived.

Geoff Blum (39): The infielder hit 99 career home runs in 14 seasons for six teams before retiring in July of the 2012 season. He saw action in just 17 games that year for the Arizona Diamondbacks, batting .143 (4 for 28) with no home runs and a single RBI.

Ed White (38): A four-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman, White played 17 NFL seasons for two teams, starting 210 games, including all 16 in his final season with the Charters in 1985.

Tony Gonzalez (37): The most prolific tight end in NFL history played 17 years with Kansas City and Atlanta, retiring after the 2013 season, when he started all 16 games, had 83 receptions for 859 yards and eight TDs. It added up to a Hall of Fame induction.

Hardy Nickerson (37): A five-time Pro Bowl linebacker, Nickerson racked up 1,586 tackles in 16 seasons. It ended in Green Bay in 2002, when he started 15 of 16 games and had 86 tackles.

Matt Hazeltine (37): Linebacker started 183 games over 15 seasons, the first 14 with the 49ers. He retired after the 1970 campaign, when he started all 14 games for a 9-5 New York Giants team.

Todd Steussie (37): Steussie played 14 seasons for four teams at offensive tackle, starting 185 games, including all six he played in his final season of 2007 with the St. Louis Rams.

Gary Plummer (37): Undrafted, the linebacker played three seasons with the Oakland Invaders of the USFL and didn’t make his NFL debut until age 26. He played 12 season and retired in 1997, after making 16 starts with 62 tackles with the 49ers.

Cameron Jordan (36): The defensive end has played his entire 15-year career with the New Orleans Saints. Last season, he started all 17 games and had 47 tackles and 10.5 sacks among 15 tackles for loss — his most since he had 15 in 2019 at age 30. Also had two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

DeSean Jackson (36): Wide receiver/return specialist scored 62 touchdowns in 15 seasons, retiring in 2022 when he had just 9 receptions for 153 yards (17.0) for the Baltimore Ravens.

Alex Mack (36): Durable center started all 196 games over 13 seasons, including his final year in 2021, when he earned his seventh Pro Bowl nod while playing for the 49ers.

Tyson Alualu (36): Defensive lineman, had 420 tackles in 14 seasons, plained just the final two games of the 2023 regular season with the Detroit Lions before retiring.

Mark Canha (36): The versatile infielder/outfielder played 11 seasons with six teams, hitting 121 home runs over 1,095 games before retiring in July of 2025 after playing in 46 games with the Kansas City Royals. In his swan song, he batted .212 with just one home run and six RBIs.

Marcus Semien (35): Now in his 15th season, the Mets’ second baseman will turn 36 on Sept. 17. Formerly a three-time third-place vote getter in the American League MVP balloting, Semien was batting .229 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 46 games through Sunday.

Xavier Nady (35): A right fielder and first baseman, Nady played his last game in May of 2014, ending a 12-year career during which he hit 104 home runs with eight teams. Played in 22 games with the San Diego Padres in 2014, batting .239 with three home runs and four RBIs.

Sam Chapman (35): A tremendous two-sport star at Cal, Chapman hit 180 home runs and collected 773 RBIs over 11 MLB seasons in a career interrupted for most of four seasons while in the Navy for WWII. The centerfielder retired after the 1951 season, when he batted .215 with six HRs and 41 RBIs.

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