"Fake news": When Aaron Rodgers called out NFL over wrong combine 40-yard dash time

Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he often finds himself at the wrong end of things with the league. In one instance, he called the NFL data "fake" when his 40-yard dash at the 2005 NFL combine was clocked at 4.71 seconds. As per Rodgers, he was faster.

In February 2017, the NFL tweeted an old picture of Aaron Rodgers sprinting in his 40-yard dash with the caption:

“@AaronRodgers12 running a 4.71 40-yard dash at the 2005 #NFLCombine!”

In response, Rodgers tweeted:

“4.66. #fakenews #teamadidas #TwinkiesFlyingEverywhere #WhatMotivatesMeIn4Words”

Rodgers’ 40-yard dash was recorded at 4.71 seconds in almost all of the NFL’s official documents. Per their record, he has the same time as Alex Smith and Tim Tebow, placing him nearly three-fourths of a second behind Robert Griffin III at 4.33, the fastest quarterback ever.

Though a minute mistake of 0.05 seconds may not be much for others, Rodgers felt cheated. At 4.66 seconds, he is placed alongside Connor Shaw and Akili Smith.

Although New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady recorded the second-worst time among all quarterbacks ever at 5.28 seconds, it didn’t affect his career much. However, Rodgers has a special reason to be so emotionally attached to his dash time.

In an appearance on HBO’s ‘Any Given Wednesday’, Rodgers told host Bill Simmons:

“I went under the knife. I was a 4.95 40 guy. I came out, I ran 4.66 at the combine a year later.”

Aaron Rodgers credits his ACL donor for faster speed

Aaron Rodgers played with a tear in his left ACL during his high school days at Pleasant Valley High School, Chico, CA. However, he used a knee brace to protect it but replaced it later during college before having his ACL replaced in 2003.

Rodgers underwent surgery in 2004 which was conducted by surgeon George Thabit of Redwood City. Thabit used tissue from a donor, as required for the allograft technique. After the minor surgery, as per Rodgers’ admission, he felt better and claimed the surgery helped improve his speed by 0.4 seconds.

In his manner, he thanked the donor and said, “In his life, he was a fast SOB."

“But I'm sending my energy out into the universe. Thanking my man for that beautiful ACL you donated to me.”

Courtesy of his surgery, Rodgers was expecting a No. 1 draft pick but was eventually selected as No. 23.