Steve Young Jon Steven " Steve " Young ( born October 11 , 1961 ) is a former professional football player , a quarterback in the National Football League ( NFL ) for fourteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s . Young played college football for Brigham Young University ( BYU ) , and played professionally for the Los Angeles Express of the USFL , and the NFL ' s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers . Young was named the Most Valuable Player of the NFL in 1992 and 1994 , and the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX . He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . At the time of his retirement , he had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks who have thrown at least 1 , 500 passing attempts ( 96 . 8 ) , and is currently ranked third . He is also still ranked highest amongst retired players . Young also won a record six NFL passer rating titles . Early years . Born in Salt Lake City , Young attended Greenwich High School in Greenwich , Connecticut . He earned 1978 All - FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year , his first year starting at quarterback for the Cardinals , under head coach Mike Ornato . In 1979 , he once again earned All - FCIAC West Division First Team honors , along with CIAC All - State honors , rushing for 13 touchdowns . In two seasons , he ran the ball 267 times for 1 , 928 yards . In the option offense run by Greenwich , passing was always the second option ; he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1 , 220 yards . During his senior year he was co - captain of the football , basketball and baseball teams . In basketball , he averaged 15 points a game . In baseball , he hit . 384 and played center field when he wasn ' t pitching . He was 5 - 1 and threw a 3 - 0 no - hitter against New Canaan High School . College career . Because Young was such a great runner , he was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina , who wanted him to play quarterback in the option offense they were using at the time . However , Young ultimately decided to attend BYU in Utah . Initially , he struggled at throwing the ball , and BYU ' s coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism . However , he worked hard to improve his passing skills and eventually succeeded record - setting Jim McMahon as the Cougars ' starting QB . Young ' s senior season ( 1983 ) was spectacular . He passed for 3 , 902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season , and his 71 . 3 % completion percentage set an NCAA single - season record . He also added 544 yards rushing . With Young at quarterback , BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584 . 2 yards of total offense per game , with 370 . 5 of those yards coming from Young ' s passing and rushing . The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11 – 1 record ; Young was named First Team All - America n by several news organizations and received the Davey O ' Brien National Quarterback Award , which recognizes the nation ' s best collegiate quarterback each year . He also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy , behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier . Young capped his college career by scoring the game - winning touchdown ( he caught a halfback pass ) in BYU ' s 21 – 17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl . Young finished his college career with 592 pass completions for 7 , 733 yards and 56 touchdowns , along with 1 , 048 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground . He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001 . Professional career . USFL . Young signed a record 10 - year , $ 40 million contract with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League in 1984 . He agreed to take his payment in the form of an annuity to help the fledgling team ; he would receive $ 40 million paid out over 40 years . It was reported that he would still be paid until 2027 because he insured the contract . However , in a 1985 article the " Los Angeles Times " stated that he received a $ 1 . 4 million settlement on the annuity . At the time , it was another huge signing by the fledgling league , who had also succeeded in signing then - current Heisman Trophy winner , running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska as well as the previous winner , Georgia running back Herschel Walker . Despite being surrounded with some talent , such as future NFL players Jojo Townsell , Mel Gray , and Kevin Nelson , and making the playoffs in Young ' s first season , the Express was never able to create a sustaining fan base in Los Angeles . Young missed the first six games of his rookie season because he took some college classes so he could graduate on time . However , he started the final 12 games and had a decent year . His most notable accomplishment was becoming the first pro football player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for another 100 in a single game . In his second season with the Express , owner William Oldenburg went bankrupt , and was forced to turn the team over to the league after being unable to find a buyer . The 1985 season rapidly became a fiasco . Before one game , the team bus driver refused to drive the Express to the Coliseum after his paycheck bounced . Young contributed a lot of money , as did some of his teammates , and the driver got them to their game . Young then lined up in the tailback position and took snaps from the shotgun formation because the Express were left with no healthy running backs . The league ceased operations in 1986 after losing most of its claims in an antitrust suit against the NFL . NFL . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Young signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985 after being the first player selected in the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players . However , the Buccaneers posted 2 – 14 records in each of Young ' s two seasons with them , and Young ' s record as starter was 3 – 16 . In his 19 games , he threw for only 11 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing fewer than 55 % of his passes . Although his time in Tampa Bay was miserable , San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young ' s natural abilities and felt that his problems were due to the struggling Bucs organization . Trade to the San Francisco 49ers . The Buccaneers selected University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft because Young was deemed a bust . Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on April 24 , 1987 to serve as a backup to Joe Montana . The Buccaneers received 2nd and 4th round draft picks in the trade , which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss , and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill , respectively . Montana ' s backup : 1987 – 1990 . Young played behind Montana his first several years , but shone as a backup . Substituting for an injured Montana , early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears , he threw four touchdown passes in a 41 – 0 victory . On October 30 , 1988 , Young ran through the Minnesota Vikings for a 49 - yard , game - winning touchdown run . He started the game out with a 73 - yard touchdown pass to John Taylor , after Montana went down with an injury . The play earned the 49ers a 24 – 21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings , who had defeated them in the 1987 playoffs . In 1989 , he displayed his potential to become the team ' s starter in the future . While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV , Young still had a good season , completing 69 % of his passes for 1 , 001 yards and eight touchdowns , with only three interceptions . On October 22 , 1989 , he posted a perfect passer rating of 158 . 3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37 – 20 victory over the New England Patriots . In his four seasons as a backup , Young had thrown 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions . He rushed for a career high 102 yards on just eight carries vs . the New Orleans Saints on December 23 , 1990 , making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game . The 49ers lost the game 13 - 10 . Montana out , Young in . 1991 season . Following an injury to Montana ' s elbow in the 1991 pre - season which forced him to miss the entire 1991 season , Young got his chance to lead the 49ers . It was a rough start for Young . Midway through the season , the 49ers found themselves struggling with a 4 – 4 record . In the ninth game of the season , after throwing a franchise record 97 - yard touchdown pass to Taylor , Young suffered a knee injury and was replaced by backup quarterback Steve Bono . After a loss in that game and the next , Bono led the 49ers to five consecutive victories , playing so well that coach George Seifert decided to keep him in the starting lineup after Young had recovered . It wasn ' t until late in the 15th game of the season , after Bono went down with an injury of his own , that Young got to play again . Young then closed out the season by throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for 63 yards and another touchdown in a 52 – 14 win over the Chicago Bears in a Monday Night Football game at Candlestick Park . Young finished the season with an NFL best 101 . 8 passer rating . Despite missing five full games and most of a sixth , he still threw for 2 , 517 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions . But despite Young ' s strong season , the season for the team was widely regarded as a disappointment . The 49ers had slipped from a 14 – 2 record in the previous season to a 10 – 6 record in 1991 . While 10 wins is usually enough to make the playoffs , this time it was not , and San Francisco ended up not playing in the postseason for the first time since 1982 . It was thought by many that Young ' s days as the 49ers starter were numbered due to the impending return of Montana from the injury to his right elbow , and some observers said the 49ers should trade Young and keep Montana and Bono . However , none of that happened . 1992 season . By the start of the 1992 season , it appeared that Young ' s starting job was in serious peril . In addition to having to compete with Bono , Montana appeared to be close to recovering from his elbow tendon surgery . San Francisco came close to trading Young to the Los Angeles Raiders , but no deal was finalized and it turned out that Montana would not recover in time to start in the opening game . Montana would not return until the final game of the 1992 season , a Monday Night home game against the Detroit Lions . Montana played the entire second half and guided the 49ers to victory . Young ended up as San Francisco ' s starting quarterback , but once again got off to a rough start . On the fifth play of the opening game at the Giants , he suffered a concussion and was replaced by Bono , who threw two touchdown passes while leading the 49ers to a 31 – 14 win . The following week , San Francisco lost 34 – 31 to the Buffalo Bills , despite a career high 449 passing yards and three touchdowns from Young , in a game that for the first time in NFL history there were zero punts from either team . Young recovered and led the 49ers on a five - game winning streak , capped off by a 56 - 17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Young passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns . After missing most of the next game ( a 24 - 14 loss to the Cardinals ) with the flu , he led San Francisco to victory in all of their remaining games of the season , giving the team a 14 – 2 record . He went on to throw for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns , and rush for 73 yards , in a 20 – 13 divisional playoff win over the Washington Redskins . The 49ers lost the NFC title game , however , 30 – 20 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys . Young threw for 313 yards , completing 71 . 4 % of his passes while passing for one touchdown and rushing for another . He also threw two interceptions , but the final one came with the outcome of the game already decided . Young finished the season with 3 , 465 passing yards and 537 rushing yards , along with an NFL best 25 touchdown passes and 107 . 0 passer rating , earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and his first selection to the Pro Bowl . He was the first quarterback ever to record a triple digit rating in consecutive seasons . Many credit Young ' s turnaround to the arrival of then 49ers Offensive Coordinator Mike Shanahan , who mentored Young just as he would mentor John Elway in the years to come . Shanahan worked with Young on combining his running skill with on - the - move passing decisions . 1993 season . Before the start of the 1993 season , team owner Eddie DeBartolo , Jr . announced that he wanted Montana to resume his role as starting quarterback for the 49ers . However , a rift in the locker room had developed , with players split on whom they wanted at quarterback . In the spring of 1993 , at Montana ' s request , San Francisco traded Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs . Young was now the 49ers ' undisputed starter , and would remain so for the rest of his career . But once again , he had a rough start to the season . Over the first four games of 1993 , Young , who was hindered by a swollen thumb on his throwing hand , threw eight interceptions , more than he had thrown during the entire 1992 season . But after his thumb healed , Young went on an incredible streak over a span of seven games , throwing 16 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions and a 122 . 2 passer rating . By the end of the year , Young set franchise records for most passing yards ( 4 , 023 ) , and consecutive passes thrown without an interception ( 189 ) , ( later eclipsed by Alex Smith in 2012 ) while leading the NFL in touchdown passes ( 29 ) and passer rating ( 101 . 5 ) . The team slipped to a 10 – 6 record , but advanced to the NFC championship game again by blowing out the New York Giants 44 – 3 in the divisional round . However , once again they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys , this time 38 – 21 . 1994 Super Bowl season . After several key free agent signings including All - Pro cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Draft selections , the 49ers looked to win their first Super Bowl since 1989 . They started fast , beating the Los Angeles Raiders 44 – 14 on the strength of four touchdown passes from Young , one of four games during the regular season in which he had at least four . After a loss in a much anticipated game to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs , the 49ers won their next two games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 40 – 8 at Candlestick Park , a game in which Young was eventually benched in the middle of an offensive series . Although head coach George Seifert later said he only pulled Young because he was getting manhandled by the Eagles ' defense , Young had had enough of being scapegoated for 49er shortfalls and loudly ( and visibly ) lambasted Seifert over his decision . But the game was considered a turning point in the season ; from there , Young led the team to 10 consecutive wins , by an average of 20 points , before losing the meaningless finale against the Vikings in which Young completed his first 12 of 13 attempts before going to the sidelines . They finished an NFL best 13 – 3 , securing home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs . The 49ers had the number one offense in the NFL , and were so dominant that Seifert often took Young out of games early if he felt that the 49ers had an insurmountable lead at the time . After an easy 44 - 15 victory over the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs , the 49ers jumped out to a 31 - 14 halftime lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game , holding on to win 38 - 28 . Young threw for two touchdowns , while adding 47 yards and another touchdown on the ground . As a result , he would head to his first Super Bowl as a starting quarterback . The 49ers were heavy favorites to become the first team with five Super Bowl victories . On the strength of a six touchdown performance that surpassed the previous Super Bowl record of five , owned by the man Young replaced , Joe Montana , Steve Young was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX , as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers , 49 - 26 . Young also threw for 325 yards and rushed for 49 yards , making him the first player ever to finish a Super Bowl as the game ' s leader in both rushing and passing yards . The victory capped off an incredible year for Young , who had one of the best seasons by a quarterback in NFL history . He threw for 3 , 969 yards , a then - franchise record 35 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions , completed an 70 . 28 percent of his passes — the highest completion percentage of the 1990s , third all - time , and at the time , the best completion percentage by any quarterback with more than 400 attempts ( later eclipsed by Drew Brees in 2009 ) . Additionally , Young broke Joe Montana ' s single season mark with a then - record 112 . 8 passer rating , and also once again demonstrated his great scrambling ability , accumulating another 289 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground . For his record - breaking season performances , Young was awarded his second AP NFL MVP award , becoming the 6th player in NFL history to win both league and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same season . Later years and injuries . In the three years following Super Bowl XXIX , the 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers , twice in San Francisco . In addition to the early playoff exits , Young suffered a series of injuries that forced him to miss several games from 1995 to 1997 . Young entered the 1998 season at age 37 and some began to wonder if his skills would diminish because of his history of injuries and a general decline in his game due to age . However he silenced all critics once again , putting up career numbers in passing yards ( 4 , 170 ) and passing touchdowns ( 36 ) . He finally beat Favre and the Packers in the NFC wild card game that year , as he threw the winning touchdown to wide receiver Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to win the game 30 – 27 . In reference to Dwight Clark ' s legendary catch against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game , Owens ' grab was called " The Catch II . " A week later , however , Garrison Hearst broke his ankle on the 49ers first play from scrimmage . Without the threat of a running game , Young threw three interceptions ( the last one a Hail Mary pass with under 30 seconds remaining in the game ) and the 49ers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 20 - 18 . Over that span of seasons from 1995 to 1998 , Young led the NFL in passer rating twice ( in 1996 and 1997 ) , and led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes in 1998 . The 1999 season would turn out to be Steve Young ' s last . Young was plagued by concussion s throughout his career . During a Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals , Young was violently sacked by Cardinals ' cornerback Aeneas Williams due to a missed blocking assignment by 49ers ' running back Lawrence Phillips . Young was knocked out of the game with a concussion , and didn ' t return again for the rest of the season due to symptoms of post - concussion syndrome . The concussion he suffered against the Cardinals was reportedly his second in a season that was only three weeks old , and the seventh ( at least ) of his career . Young was forced to retire at the end of the year ; the team informed him that he would be released if he did not retire . Although Young was offered a job as the Broncos starting quarterback , he retired because of his repeated concussions . In a 2013 " Frontline " interview , Young said that , partially based upon their own experiences , he and many retired players are increasingly concerned about repeated concussions and subconcussive hits . He is particularly concerned about certain positions that take frequent hits , such as running backs and linemen . Although he did not become the 49ers ' starter until his 8th NFL season , and he played a full season only three times during his 15 - year career , Young compiled impressive career numbers . He completed 2 , 667 of 4 , 149 passes for 33 , 124 yards and 232 touchdowns , with 107 interceptions , and 43 rushing touchdowns . His 96 . 8 career passer rating is the third highest in NFL history and highest amongst retired players ; his 4 , 239 rushing yards are the third most ever gained by a quarterback , behind Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham . He was the NFL ' s top rated passer in six different seasons and led the league in touchdown passes four times . In 20 postseason games , he threw 20 touchdown passes with only 13 interceptions , and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground . In his stint with the San Francisco 49ers , Young passed for 29 , 907 yards , 221 touchdowns , and 86 interceptions , with a passer rating of 101 . 4 , highest in franchise history . He was also sacked 290 times , also most in franchise history . Records and legacy . College NCAA Division I records : < br > Total offense Passing National Football League records : A left - handed thrower , Young was famous for his ability to " scramble " away from the pass rush . In 1999 , he was ranked # 63 on " The Sporting News " list of the 100 Greatest Football Players . Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5 , 2005 ; he was the first left - handed quarterback to be so honored . He was enshrined August 7 , 2005 . His induction speech was given by his father , LeGrande " Grit " Young . The San Francisco 49ers had his # 8 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony against the New England Patriots on October 5 , 2008 . He was the 11th player in team history to receive this honor . Endorsements . He appeared in All Sport , Visa , and Gatorade commercials with Jerry Rice while the two played for the 49ers . His 1988 scramble against the Minnesota Vikings was featured in a 2006 Burger King commercial with the Burger King " King " digitally superimposed over the young quarterback . He appeared in the football video game " All - Pro Football 2K8 " , along with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice . He is also the star and voiceover talent of the iOS game " Steve Young Football " . Acting . Steve Young appeared in one episode of " Frasier " , one episode of " " ( cast as Lois ' former high school football quarterback boyfriend , Joe Maloy ) , and in " The Singles Ward " . He also made a guest appearance as himself in the " Dharma & Greg " episode " Are You Ready for Some Football ? " encouraging Dharma , the team ' s Number One Fan . Personal life . Young is a great - great - great - grandson of Brigham Young , second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints for whom BYU is named . His father , LeGrande " Grit " Young , played football at BYU in the late 1950s . He led the school in scoring in 1955 and in rushing and total offense in 1959 . Steve Young ' s younger brothers , Mike and Tom , both played quarterback at BYU after Steve , but neither received much playing time . He married former model Barbara Graham , on March 15 , 2000 , in the Kona Hawaii Temple on the island of Hawaii . They are the parents of two sons and two daughters . Post - football . Steve Young received his Juris Doctor ( J . D . ) from the Brigham Young University J . Reuben Clark Law School . He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Utah Valley University ( then Utah Valley State College ) for speaking at its graduation ceremonies in 2005 . Young serves as a managing director of Huntsman Gay Global Capital after being involved in business ventures with this private equity firm founded by billionaire industrialist Jon M . Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C . Gay , also a co - founder of Sorenson Capital , in Lehi , Utah . Young also sat on the board of Foundry Networks before it was acquired by Brocade Communications Systems in 2008 . When Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995 , Young was the first volunteer . During the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony , Young carried the placard for Great Britain . Additionally , Young was among the contingent at Salt Lake City in February 1998 to receive the Olympic Flag after the 1998 Winter Olympics closed in Nagano , Japan at Salt Lake City International Airport . He has also maintained involvement with football . He can be seen alongside Stuart Scott and Trent Dilfer on the pre - and post - game shows for ESPN ' s " Monday Night Football " . He also co - hosts a radio show on KNBR at 5 pm on Wednesdays during football season along with The Razor and Mr . T , Ralph Barbieri and Tom Tolbert . Young spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2000 , leading some to speculate that he might be interested in entering politics in the future . Young caught the ceremonial first pitch , thrown by Jerry Rice , at the season opener for the San Francisco Giants on April 9 , 2010 . Young was one of several notable BYU athletes and coaches who appeared in the school ' s 2011 " Real Cougar " advertising campaign , which featured the individuals telling an actual cougar about being a " real cougar . " In one of the ads , Young poked fun at himself : Young was originally offered a part in 1998 movie " There ' s Something About Mary " , but turned the role down due to the film ' s coarse nature . He was replaced by Brett Favre . Young made a cameo appearance in the Mormon comedy The Singles Ward in 2002 . Philanthropy . Steve serves as a National Advisor to . This non - profit organization plans expeditions to African and South American countries to provide life skills mentoring with sustainable solutions in education , enterprise , health and simple technology . In 1993 , Steve founded a charitable foundation known as the Forever Young Foundation , which serves children facing significant physical , emotional , and financial challenges by providing academic , athletic , and therapeutic opportunities otherwise unavailable to them . Steve also serves as the National Spokesman for the Best Shot Foundation , an organization founded by former Save Darfur Coalition executive director and founder , David Rubenstein . He began his affiliation with the organization in 2009 , when he became the honorary league commissioner for their charitable dodgeball tournaments held on college campuses nationwide .