Ben Roethlisberger has chosen his side in a debate over whether prime Aaron Rodgers was better than present-day Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes and Rodgers are two quarterbacks who have captivated NFL audiences around the world for many years. During his heyday with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers was among the most feared signal-callers in the league; between 2011 and 2021, he was named NFL MVP four times. During this span, he led the NFL in touchdown passes twice, and he boasted the league’s lowest interception rate five times.

However, Rodgers’ lone Super Bowl win (to date) occurred in 2010, right as he emerged as an elite player. In only seven seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Mahomes has already played in five Super Bowls, with three victories to his name.

Mahomes, a two-time MVP, had a “down” year in 2024 despite the Chiefs’ 15-2 record. He failed to crack the 4,000-yard mark for the first time since his rookie season, but he led the NFL in game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks while winning another AFC championship.

At 29 years old, Mahomes already has racked up more playoff victories (17) than Rodgers (11) has in his entire career. But Roethlisberger, an icon in Pittsburgh, still thinks prime Rodgers was better than the current iteration of Mahomes.

“Patrick Mahomes is just now entering out of his prime, I think,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday on his podcast, “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.” “He’ll go down as another arguable GOAT. But I think Aaron in his prime is better.”

Rodgers only recently joined the Steelers on a one-year contract, entering what is almost certainly his final NFL season in 2025. Only time will tell as to whether Rodgers can propel Pittsburgh to the playoffs, and a first postseason win since Roethlisberger was under center in January 2017, but Roethlisberger is optimistic that Rodgers has plenty left in the tank after two tumultuous, injury-affected years with the New York Jets.

“I think you’ll get a better Aaron this year,” Roethlisberger said. “Just because the thought process of the Achilles, ‘what can I do, what can I not do?’ I don’t think he’ll think about it at all.”