Gridiron greats on 60 Minutes

Aaron Rodgers

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' rise to NFL stardom was unlikely, but so was the rise of the Green Bay Packers -- the country's only nonprofit, community-owned sports franchise.

"The smallest town in the league has the largest number of championships. It sounds a little like you," said 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley.

"Well, I think that's why Green Bay and I get along pretty well is we've had that underdog story as part of our history," Rodgers said.

Segment originally aired on Nov. 4, 2012. Featured video is an excerpt.

Tom Brady

When Steve Kroft interviewed New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2005, he was 28 and had already won three Super Bowl rings.

Yet Brady barely made it to the NFL at all. For much of his high school and college careers, he was a second stringer, battling for the starting job. He wasn't picked until the sixth round of the NFL draft, the 199th player chosen. In this 60 Minutes Overtime video, Steve Kroft asks Brady if he ever wants to say, "I told you so."

Overtime Segment originally published on Nov. 24, 2010.

Football Island

"Football is something that comes naturally to us," NFL star Troy Polamalu said about his Samoan heritage.

American Samoa has produced more players for the NFL than any other place in the U.S. 60 Minutes traveled to the island and found a people and traditions so perfectly suited to America's game - it's as if they'd been waiting centuries for it to come ashore.

In this excerpt, Scott Pelley talks with Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu about what it means for Samoans to make it in the NFL

Segment originally aired on Jan. 17, 2010. Featured video is an excerpt.

LaDainian Tomlinson

You've probably heard the saying that "nice guys finish last." But as correspondent Bob Simon reported in 2007, former running back LaDainian Tomlinson is an exception to that rule.

"What's more important, what you do on the field or what you do off the field?" Simon asked.

"I think definitely what I do off the field. People may remember something I did on the field for a couple of days, maybe a week. But the things that I do....in the community is something that people will remember for the rest of their lives, because they're touched by it," Tomlinson said.

Segment originally aired on Dec. 9, 2007. Featured video is an excerpt.

Joe Namath

Joe Namath was the first quarterback to move from the field to popular culture -- and dominate both.

In his 13-year career, Namath was crushed by linemen so often that his knees turned to "putty," and he turned to alcohol. Bob Simon profiled the legend when he was 1,003 days sober in 2006.

Segment originally aired on Nov. 19, 2006. Featured video is an excerpt.