Chad Pennington

Former NFL Quarterback, two-time Comeback Player of the Year

Chad Pennington is a former NFL quarterback who played for the New York Jets from 2000 to 2007, and the Miami Dolphins from 2008-2010. Pennington is a two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2006, 2008), the only player in NFL history to win the award twice in a career. He was the NFL passer rating leader in 2002, and a two-time completion percentage leader (2002, 2008).

Pennington joined the Jets in 2000 as a first-round pick, one of four the team had that year. He played college football at Marshall, where he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1999 awarded to the nation’s top college passer. In that same season, Pennington also won the Mid-American Conference Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Pennington became the Jets’ starting quarterback during the 2002 season, replacing Vinny Testaverde. When he took over the starting job, the Jets were 1-4, but Pennington led the Jets to a 9-7 record and an AFC East championship. 

During his 11-year career he started six playoff games, five with the Jets and one with the Dolphins. He finished his career with 17,823 passing yards and 102 TD passes, His 66.0 career completion percentage was the best in NFL history at the time of his retirement.

Pennington’s first sport was basketball, but he realized he would have a better chance of getting into college in football after he started playing in his freshman year of high school. After being recruited only by Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee-Chattanooga, he attended a camp at his parents’ alma mater, Marshall, where head coach Jim Donnan offered him a scholarship.

Pennington famously brought his Jets playbook on his honeymoon after marrying his college girlfriend. He and his family currently live in Woodford County, Kentucky.