Aaron Rodgers Says He Wants to Be Packers' QB at Age 40

Tom Brady is celebrating his 40th birthday as he approaches his 18th season in the NFL, all of which he has spent with the New England Patriots. Aaron Rodgers envisions achieving a similar milestone with the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers told reporters Thursday that he hopes to still be with the Packers when he turns 40, adding that he wants to finish his career in Green Bay, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky:

"It's being a sports fan and watching some of my favorite all-time players either not finish in the place they started or the place where you fell in love watching them play—or they did. And seeing how different the memory is of those players as a fan, and seeing some of my favorite players growing finishing up now or have finished up in the last two or three years -- the Derek Jeters, the Kobe Bryants, the Tim Duncans—doing it their entire career in one place, that makes things pretty special.

"So again, I'm a realist as well. I have to play well, the team has to want to bring me back, but I've said I'd like to finish things here where we started."

According to Pro Football Reference, only 17 quarterbacks in NFL history have continued playing until at least 40, with Brady set to join the group. Of those 18 players, only Brady and Charlie Conerly stayed with one team over the entirety of his NFL career. Conerly joined the New York Giants in 1948 and retired after the 1961 season.

Rodgers could realistically become the third.

He's under contract for three more years, which will have him hit free agency at 36—assuming he and the Packers don't agree to an extension before then. The 33-year-old continues to play at a high level as well, having thrown for 4,428 yards and a league-leading 40 touchdowns in 2016.

In addition, the scarcity of starting-caliber quarterbacks in the NFL gives teams an incentive to stick with the status quo.

Still, it's impossible to predict the future. Until it actually happened, few could've foreseen Brett Favre retiring and then un-retiring to play with the New York Jets and then spend his final two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

Judging by how they handled the end of Favre's time in Green Bay, the Packers may not hesitate to move on from Rodgers down the line if they feel it's in the best interest of the franchise's long-term health.