Minnesota’s Favorite NFL Player Never Played for the Vikings
The Vikings are getting ready to kick off the 2024 season in just a little over a week, but did you know that the most popular NFL player in Minnesota doesn't play here-- and has never even played a down for the Vikings?
The NFL just wrapped up its 2024 preseason this past weekend, with the Vikings getting a commanding win on the road over the Philadelphia Eagles, 26 to 3. They ultimately finished the preseason 2-and-1, winning preseason week 2 against the Cleveland Browns 27-12, but losing preseason week 1 to the Raiders, 24-23.
Outside of seeing how various players performed to compile their final roster, those NFL preseason games don't mean much. They don't count toward any team's yearly wins and losses, as every team in the league has a 0-0 record heading into the regular season, which, for the Vikings, begins September 8th, against the Giants in New York.
The Vikings have seen a lot of seasons, having called Minnesota home since 1961. And over their 63 years in existence, there have been numerous players who have donned the purple and gold and have become favorites of fans around the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
For instance, if you go back to the 1970s and the Vikings' 'Purple People Eater' era, players like Carl Eller, Alan Page, and Fran Tarkenton were fan favorites. In the 1980s, it was players like Ahmad Rashad and Tommy Kramer. In the 90s, John Randle and Randy Moss were favorites, while Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen are more modern-day favs.
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But according to a survey from BettingSites.co.uk, the current most popular NFL player in Minnesota never even played a single down for the Vikings. The new BettingSites.co.uk survey says they analyzed Google search data from the past 12 months to see which players were most popular in each US state.
So which NFL player is currently the most popular in Minnesota? That would be Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, while currently a member of the New York Jets, spent 18 seasons making Viking fans miserable as the quarterback for their division rival Green Bay Packers. According to the survey:
Aaron Rodgers comes in first place in Minnesota with 84,450 searches a month on average, followed by Kirk Cousins with 81,375 searches, and then Travis Kelce with 55,850 searches each month.
It makes sense the team's quarterback for the past several seasons, Kirk Cousins, is nearly tied with Rodgers for number one on the list. It also makes sense that current Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson along with former Viking and Minnesota native, Adam Theilen are also on the list. After that, the Taylor Swift effect might be the reason for Travis Kelce's inclusion on the list and apparent popularity here in the Bold North.
Meanwhile, behind the Cheddar Curtain over in Wisconsin, former Packer Aaron Rodgers was also the most popular NFL player, followed by current Packers quarterback Jordan Love, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. You can check out the full list below.
Most Popular NFL Players in Minnesota (and the number of searches per month)
- Aaron Rodgers - 84,450
- Kirk Cousins - 81,375
- Travis Kelce - 55,850
- Justin Jefferson - 54,467
- Adam Thielen - 30,317
Whether or not the former quarterback of the Vikings' archrival actually IS the most popular player in Minnesota can still be debated, keep scrolling for something that IS certain: 10 Things People From Wisconsin Secretly Think About Minnesota.
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10 Things Every Person From Wisconsin Thinks About Minnesota
