Steve Young

Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted him. Prior to his NFL career, Young played for the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, setting school and NCAA records. Young left the fledgling USFL after the 1985 season to join the Buccaneers. Two seasons of underwhelming play led Tampa Bay to trade him to the 49ers in 1987. A quarterback controversy ensued as he spent several seasons backing up starting quarterback Joe Montana, who had previously led San Francisco to four Super Bowl championships. Young became the 49ers' full-time starting quarterback in 1991. He was named the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX where he led the 49ers to a victory over the San Diego Chargers with a record six touchdown passes. During his 1994 MVP campaign, Young set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Young was an extremely efficient passer, leading the league in passer rating a record six times and completion percentage and yards per attempt five times. At the time of his retirement, Young had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts (96.8). As of 2025, he was ranked fourteenth all time in passer rating, and was ranked fourth-highest amongst retired players, behind only Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Tony Romo. Young's 43 career rushing touchdowns are fourth among quarterbacks, while his 4,239 rushing yards ranks sixth all time.