The NFL's Quarterback Challenge , created by the Challenge Group, LLC, was an annual competition of
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
quarterbacks
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...
, sponsored in part by
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
, produced by
NFL Players Inc. and NFL QB Greats. The first NFL Quarterback Challenge took place in 1990 on the island of Kauai. Previously it was sponsored by
989 Sports
989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', '' Twisted Metal III'', ''Twisted Metal 4'', ''Syphon Filter ...
and in 2005 by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
EA Sports.
Each of the quarterback challenges had different events that would test each quarterback's skills, with points being given to each quarterback. Whichever quarterback had the most points at the end of all the events, would win the challenge, with rewards also given to the quarterback who won each event. The events included the following:
Speed and Mobility :
Penalties for knocking over obstacles and missing targets
Bonus for hitting the bullseye or inner ring
Top two advance to the final round
QBC 7.61 seconds (
Rick Mirer
Richard Franklin Mirer (born March 19, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected second overall by the Seattle Sea ...
, 1995)
For this event, each quarterback would go run a slalom-like course, where they would have to run around cones, past cardboard cutouts of defenders, and a jump over a small hurdle and throw a pass at a target. Depending on where the target was hit by the football, the quarterback would have fractions of a second deducted from their overall time, such as .5 seconds being deducted if the quarterback hits the bullseye, or .25 seconds if they hit the outer ring of the target. The fastest time, including the deductions, was the winner.
Course outline:
1st Duck back right, run around the cone
2nd through ring
3rd run left
4th run right right
5th over hurdle
6th throw into ring; red = 0.5 bonus, white = 0.25 bonus, grey = 0.00
Accuracy:
30 seconds to complete the course, closer to bullseye = higher score.
Highest possible score - 84 points
QBC record -
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, ...
, 70 points (1995)
1st cart; 6, 8, 10 points over 3 balls, cart cutting diagonal right to left like a post route
Max score 30
2nd group; 6, 8, 10 points over 3 balls, cart cutting left to right like an in route
Max score 30
3rd group; 12,18 24 points over 1 ball, deep post about 40 yards
Max score 24
*All cart movements are inverted opposite for lefty QBs
Long Distance: Each quarterback tries to throw a football as far as they can, with the quarterbacks with the top three distances getting a chance to try again. The quarterbacks also have to keep the balls in bounds, or their throws wouldn't count. The winner of the event was the quarterback with the longest pass.
Better of 2 throws count
IF tie, 1 throw shoot out
2 points awarded every yard past 50 yards
QBC record -
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the Hei ...
, 80 yards (1988)
Read & Recognition: Each quarterback throws a football at moving targets, but only the targets designated by a yellow flag, with each quarterback having four attempts.
If tie, 1 throw shootout
Highest possible score: 192
4 attempts aiming for short, medium or long targets
Short; 6,8,12
one from left, one from right crossing
Medium; 18,27,36
one from left, one from right crossing
Long; 30,45,60
(2 chances only)
QBC record -
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (born July 3, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons. He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third ro ...
(1996) &
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
(1997), 111 points
Video games
NFL-licensed ''NFL Quarterback Challenge'', created by ProAppSports and produced by Adisoft Studios is currently available on
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
's
iPhone and
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
devices. An officially NFL-licensed Quarterback Challenge appeared in 2 other different console video games. Both video game versions appeared in the same Quarterback Club series of games by
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...
. The Quarterback Challenge mode appeared in the first and last versions of the game series. The first was in the original Quarterback Club game released in 1994 on the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
and
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
. The second and final appearance of the challenge was in NFL QB Club 2002, published in 2001 for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. The first version was a sprite-based 2D game, while the later version was fully 3D. Both of these games and all games in this series were developed by
Iguana Entertainment
Acclaim Studios Austin (formerly Iguana Entertainment) was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by Jeff Spangenberg, previously lead designer for Punk Development, and originally located in Sa ...
in Austin, Texas. The 1994 SNES/Genesis version was produced by Russell Byrd. The 2001 PS2/GameCube version was produced by Charles Normann.
Discontinued
In November 2007 NFL cancelled Quarterback Challenge. Cayman Islands Tourism confirmed on March 8, 2008, that the NFL officially discontinued the competition indefinitely.
[{{Cite web , url=http://www.caymanislands.ky/tour_guide/news_list_pub.aspx?newsid=2F4E94F1-E70C-432B-962A-BD48946DF0A1 , title=NFL discontinues Quarterback Challenge , access-date=2008-07-31 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605165930/http://www.caymanislands.ky/tour_guide/news_list_pub.aspx?newsid=2F4E94F1-E70C-432B-962A-BD48946DF0A1 , archive-date=2008-06-05 , url-status=dead ]
Winners
*1990
Ken O'Brien
Kenneth John O'Brien Jr. (born November 27, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. When he retired he was the only Jets quarterback to have ever ...
*1991
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
*1992
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
*1993
Jeff Hostetler
William Jeffrey Hostetler (born April 22, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss."
College career ...
*1994
Randall Cunningham
Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...
*1995
Randall Cunningham
Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...
*1996
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell (born July 3, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons. He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third ro ...
*1997
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the Hei ...
*1998
Jim Harbaugh
James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...
*1999
Jake Plummer
Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 199 ...
*2000
Jake Plummer
Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 199 ...
*2001
Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972) is a former American football quarterback and analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He is best known as the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens during their Su ...
*2002
Jeff Garcia
Jeffrey Jason Garcia (born February 24, 1970) is a former American football quarterback. After attending high school and junior college in Gilroy, California, Garcia played college football at San Jose State University.
A four-time CFL All-St ...
*2003
Brad Johnson
*2004
Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth round ...
*2005
Jake Delhomme
Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at Louisiana, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisian ...
*2006
Chris Simms
Christopher David Simms (born August 29, 1980) is an American sports analyst and former American football, football player. He was a quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in t ...
*2007
Josh McCown
Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorabl ...
References
ESPN original programming
Quarterback Challenge
Recurring events established in 1990
Sports entertainment
Recurring events disestablished in 2007