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, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. A three time Super Bowl champion, Young was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1992 and 1994. He previously 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. In 2001, Young was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
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 two Super Bowl championships and would quarterback two more Super Bowl wins. 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.
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Early life
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Young attended Eastern Middle School, and Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he played quarterback on its Cardinals football team.
Young earned 1978 All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year, his first year as a starter. In his senior year, Young rushed for 13 touchdowns and earned All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors, and was named to the CIAC All-State team. In the rush-first option offense run by Greenwich, he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1,220 yards, but ran the ball 267 times for 1,928 yards. On Thanksgiving Day in November 1979, Greenwich lost to Darien High School, known for its "Tidal Wave Defense", 17–0. During his senior year, Young was co-captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. In basketball, he averaged 15 points a game. In baseball, Young hit .384 and played center field when he was not pitching. Young was 5–1 and threw a 3–0 no-hitter against New Canaan High School.
College career
Young was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina. Coach Dick Crum was enamored of Young's running ability, and wanted him to run his option offense. Young instead chose BYU. Initially, he struggled at throwing the ball, and BYU's coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism. However, Young worked hard to improve his passing skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as BYU's starting quarterback. In his senior season, Young led the nation in passing yards (3,902), passing touchdowns (33), passer rating, and his 71.3% completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record. Young 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 his passing and rushing. The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11–1 record; Young was named a unanimous All-American 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 on a pass from the halfback 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. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional football
At the time Young left college the USFL was proving a serious challenge to the established NFL, and he had a choice to be a top pick in either league.
Los Angeles Express
Young was selected by the USFL Los Angeles Express in the first round (11th overall) of the 1984 draft held that January. Express general manager Don Klosterman told Young that if he signed with the Express, his head coach would be John Hadl, a former All-Pro quarterback who had shepherded John Elway through his first year in the NFL. Klosterman also told Young that Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman, who had been hired as a consultant, would tutor him on how to be a pro quarterback.
The regular 1984 NFL draft would not be held until May. To help influence his decision, the Express offered an all-sports record 10-year, $40 million contract. Young was convinced, and signed with the Express in March 1984. He agreed to take his payment in the form of an annuity paid out over forty years to help the fledgling team.
After missing the first six games of his rookie season while taking some college classes in order to graduate on time, Young started the final 12 games. He had a respectable year, highlighted by becoming the first pro football player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a single game.
Despite a roster which included future NFL players such as Jojo Townsell, Mel Gray, and Kevin Nelson, and making the Western Conference title game in Young's first season, the Express were never able to create a sustaining fan base in Los Angeles. They often played to sparse crowds that looked even more so in the then-95,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Near the end of the 1984 season, Express owner J. William Oldenburg was forced to give up control of the team after multiple reports revealed he had misrepresented his net worth. Houston Gamblers minority owner Jay Roulier was cleared to buy the team, only to be pushed out shortly before the 1985 preseason when it emerged that he too had lied about his finances. For all intents and purposes, the Express' 1985 season ended at that point. The league took over the team and cut the budget to the bare minimum. Notably, no money was allocated to replace injured players. This left the Express in a precarious position when a rash of injuries decimated the roster. Even before then, Young and the other young players concluded that the Express would not be around for the planned move to a fall schedule in 1986, even if the USFL survived. With this in mind, they played tentatively so as not to harm their NFL prospects. As a result, despite fielding essentially the same team as a year prior, the Express cratered to a 3–15 record.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Young grew increasingly dissatisfied with the disarray surrounding the Express. Just a week before what proved to be the last USFL title game, Young gave the USFL an ultimatum – find a new owner for the Express, or allow him to buy out his contract and go to the NFL. Soon after the league decided to suspend the Express's operations for the 1986 season, Young bought out his Express contract and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had made him the first pick in a supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players a year earlier.
By this time, the Buccaneers were in the midst of what would be 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. They posted identical 2–14 records in Young's two seasons with them, going 3–16 with him as a starter. Young threw for only 11 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing fewer than 55% of his passes.
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. 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young's natural abilities, and believed his lackluster numbers were primarily due to the lack of talent around him in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers received second and fourth round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill, respectively.
Young played behind Montana for four years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, Young threw four touchdown passes in a 41–0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27–10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a good performance, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts for 158 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. It was the longest run by a 49ers quarterback until 2012 with a 56-yard run by Colin Kaepernick. Young 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 for their previous season's playoff loss. The win turned out to be crucial. Without it, the 49ers would have finished the season 9–7 and missed the playoffs. Two other teams in their division, the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, had 10–6 records. Instead, the 49ers won their division, earned the #2 playoff seed, and went on to win the Super Bowl.
In 1989, Young displayed potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to a victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards, eight touchdowns, and 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.
Career statistics and records
Records and legacy
Although Young did not become the 49ers' first-string quarterback until his seventh NFL season, and he played a full season only thrice (all consecutively) during his 15-year career, Young had a significant impact on the NFL. A two-time league MVP, he completed 2,667 of 4,149 passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, with 107 interceptions and 43 rushing touchdowns. Young's 96.8 career passer rating is the twelfth highest in NFL history and fifth highest among retired players, behind Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees. Young's 4,239 rushing yards are the seventh most ever gained by a quarterback, behind Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Randall Cunningham, and Josh Allen. At the time of his retirement, Young had the highest career passer rating ever, and only trailed Cunningham in rushing yards for a quarterback. 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, Young threw 20 touchdown passes with only 13 interceptions, and scored eight touchdowns on the ground. During his stint with the 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. From October 20, 1991, to October 1, 2023, Young held the franchise's highest single game completion rate of 90%, which he set against the Detroit Lions, until it was bested by Brock Purdy's 95.2% against the Arizona Cardinals.
NFL records
Thirteenth highest passer rating, career, including active players – 96.8
Fourth highest passer rating, career, retired players only – 96.8
Eighth highest career completion percentage, retired players – 64.3%
Most times led the league in passer rating, career – 6 (tied with Sammy Baugh)
Most consecutive times led the league in passer rating – 4 (1991–94)
One of seven quarterbacks to lead the league in touchdown passes 4 times (tied w/ Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Len Dawson)
Awards and honors
NFL
3× Super Bowl champion (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)
Super Bowl MVP (XXIX)
2× NFL Most Valuable Player (1992, 1994)
NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1992)
2× UPI NFC Offensive Player of the Year (1992, 1994)
3× First-team All-Pro (1992–1994)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1995, 1997, 1998)
7× Pro Bowl (1992–1998)
4× NFL passing touchdowns leader (1992–1994, 1998)
6× NFL passer rating leader (1991–1994, 1996, 1997)
5× NFL completion percentage leader (1992, 1994–1997)
2× Bert Bell Award (1992, 1994)
No. 81 on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players
San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame
San Francisco 49ers No. 8 retired
College
College Football Hall of Fame inductee (2001)
Unanimous All-American (1983)
2× First-team All-WAC (1982, 1983)
2× WAC Offensive Player of the Year (1982, 1983)
Davey O'Brien Award (1983)
Sammy Baugh Trophy (1982)
BYU Cougars Jersey No. 8 retired
Post-football
Business career
In 1994, Young earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School.
In 2000, Young gave the opening prayer at the Republican National Convention.
In 2007, Young co-founded Huntsman Gay Global Capital (HGGC) with billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay. After being involved in business ventures with the private equity firm, Young continued to serve as a managing director.
In 2011, Young was one of several notable BYU athletes and coaches who appeared in the school's "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: I love BYU so much I even got my law degree here.
Cougar: (growls)
Young: Lawyers... I know.
As of 2022, Young has been serving as chairman of the board for Integrity Marketing Group and his private equity firm, Huntsman Gay Global Capital, held a position in the partnership.
Acting career
Young has both performed dramatic roles and appeared as himself in a limited acting career. He appeared in one episode of Frasier and one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (cast as Lois' former high school football quarterback boyfriend, Joe Maloy). 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. In 1995, Young appeared as himself in the Season 6, Episode 12 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. He also made cameo appearances in the LDS comedy The Singles Ward (2002) and in a season 5 episode of BYUtv's Studio C (2014). Young also made a guest appearance as himself in season 8 of the NBC comedy series Wings in the episode "Just Call Me Angel".
Young was supposed to receive a part in the 1998 movie There's Something About Mary - a role specifically written for him - but he turned it down. Instead it went to Brett Favre.
Broadcasting career
Young was laid off by ESPN on June 30, 2023, after being a fixture on ESPN's NFL studio shows, including NFL Countdown, for more than two decades. He was part of a round of layoffs that included many notable on-air personalities.
Philanthropy
Young serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND: A Humanitarian Alliance. 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, Young 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.
Young also serves as the national spokesman for an organization founded by former Save Darfur Coalition executive director and founder, David Rubenstein. Young 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.
Personal life
Young is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is a great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, second president of the LDS Church, for whom BYU is named.
While at BYU, Young was a passenger in a car crash in which the driver, a family friend named Jill Simmons, died. It is unclear if the driver had fallen asleep, or if she had died of an aneurysm, in advance of the crash.
Young married his wife, Barbara Graham, in 2000. They have two sons and two daughters. According to A Football Life, because his playing career ended before his eldest child was born, Young wrote his autobiography, QB: My Life Behind the Spiral, initially as a private memoir for his children. The book was published in 2016, with writer Jeff Benedict as coauthor.
Young resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.