Jared Goff

Early life

Goff was born on October 14, 1994, in San Rafael, California, and raised in Novato, California, the son of Jerry Goff, a former Major League Baseball player. He has an older sister named Lauren. Goff grew up as a San Francisco 49ers fan and wore the number 16 as a tribute to Joe Montana, who played for the 49ers before Goff was born.

Goff attended Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California, and graduated in 2013. He played for the football team, throwing for 7,687 yards and 93 touchdowns with 18 interceptions in three varsity seasons at Marin Catholic, completing 477-of-767 passes (62.2%), equal to a passer rating of 125.5, for teams that combined to post a 39–4 overall record and 21–0 Marin County Athletic League mark on their way to an appearance in the state title game, one North Coast Section crown, three NCS playoff appearances, and three MCAL championships. In addition, he played basketball and baseball for Marin Catholic.

College career

Goff was recruited by a number of college programs and received scholarship offers from Boise State, Fresno State, and Washington State before choosing to attend the University of California, Berkeley. Goff was a mid-year enrollee at Cal in January 2013 and joined the Golden Bears for 2013 spring practices. In August, he was named starting quarterback for the 2013 season over redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Kline, becoming the first true freshman quarterback in Cal history to start a season opener.

Goff set numerous school records. This included passing yards (12,220), passing yards per game (329.7 ypg), touchdown passes (96), completions (977), passing attempts (1,569), total offense (12,086), and total plays (1,739). He is second only to Aaron Rodgers on Cal's all-time list for passing efficiency (143.95).

2013 season

Under new head coach Sonny Dykes, Goff started all twelve games in the 2013 season, and although the team finished 1–11, he set Cal single-season records for passing yards (3,508), yardage gained (3,508), total offense (3,446), passes completed (320), and passes attempted (530). Goff finished his true freshman season with a 60.3 completion percentage with 18 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.

2014 season

In 2014, Goff was again the starting quarterback for the Golden Bears. In a September 27 matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes, Goff threw a career-high seven touchdown passes, completing 24 of 42 passes for 458 yards. On October 4, Goff threw for a new career-high and school-record 527 yards and five touchdowns in a 60–59 victory over Washington State. Goff helped lead the Golden Bears to a 5–7 season, a four-win improvement over the 2013 season. He finished the 2014 season with 3,973 yards, 35 touchdowns, and a 62% completion rate, once again setting new school records.

2015 season

In 2015, as a junior, Goff led the Bears to a 7–5 regular-season finish, clinching Cal's first winning season since 2011. Going into the season, Goff was projected as the top quarterback for the 2016 NFL draft by Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. On November 14, 2015, Goff threw for 453 yards and six touchdowns in a 54–24 victory over Oregon State, earning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time. Two weeks later, Goff set a new Cal single-game record with 542 passing yards in a 48–46 come-from-behind victory over Arizona State, earning Player of the Week honors for a second time. In the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl, Goff threw for six touchdown passes and 467 yards, leading the Bears to a 55–36 victory over Air Force.

In 2015, Goff set a new Pac-12 single-season passing-yardage record (4,714), and also set a new conference record for touchdown passes in a season (43). He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He was the first Cal quarterback to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors since Rodgers in 2004 while leading an 8–5 Cal team to a winning record and bowl game for the first time since 2011 as well as a post-season win for the first time since 2008.

During Goff's time as quarterback, the Golden Bears never beat an in-state rival, going 0–9 against Stanford, UCLA, and USC, and they also went 0–3 against division rival Oregon. Goff's father has been quoted as saying the lack of a marquee win bothered his son. Goff majored in sociology during his time at Cal.

After his junior season, Goff announced his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2016 NFL draft.

Professional career

Pre-draft

In mid-February 2016, most analysts had Goff projected to be selected in the early first round of the draft, with the second overall pick of the Cleveland Browns being his most frequently predicted landing spot, or the San Francisco 49ers with the seventh overall pick. Despite not excelling at the physical tests at the NFL Scouting Combine, Goff still improved his draft stock with a strong showing in the positional drills. Goff also reportedly scored a 36 on his Wonderlic exam.

Los Angeles Rams

Goff was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 NFL draft. The Rams had traded up in the first round and acquired the first pick from the Tennessee Titans. Goff was the second Rams quarterback to be taken first overall in six years; the Rams had selected Sam Bradford first overall six years earlier. Goff was the last first round pick made by the Rams until Jared Verse in 2024.

On June 9, 2016, Goff signed a four-year deal with $27.9 million guaranteed, including an $18.6 million signing bonus.

On November 15, Goff was named the Rams' starting quarterback for the game against the Miami Dolphins after spending the first nine games as the backup to veteran quarterback Case Keenum. Goff started the final seven games of the season. On November 20, 2016, he made his professional debut and first NFL start against the Dolphins and completed 17 of 31 attempts for 134 yards in the 14–10 loss. The following week against the New Orleans Saints, he threw his first NFL touchdown on a 24-yard completion to wide receiver Tavon Austin in the first quarter and had his first career interception in the third quarter after being picked off by Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro. Goff finished the 49–21 road loss completing 20-of-32 passes for 214 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

During a Week 14 42–14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Goff completed 24 of 41 passes for 235 yards and two interceptions. He also had his first NFL rushing touchdown on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter.

As a rookie, Goff made seven starts. The Rams lost each of those games finishing with an overall record of 4–12. Goff completed 112 of 205 passes for 1,089 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go along with 16 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Goff entered the season with a new head coach in Sean McVay. During the season-opening 46–9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Goff achieved his first professional victory while completing 21-of-29 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown. His performance against the Colts marked his first career game with at least 300 passing yards. Two weeks later against the 49ers, Goff completed 22 of 28 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Rams to a narrow 41–39 road victory.

Detroit Lions

On March 18, 2021, Goff was traded alongside the Rams' first round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, and a 2021 third-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Goff was informed of the trade by Rams head coach Sean McVay right before it was posted to social media.

Goff made his Lions debut in the season-opener against the 49ers. He finished the game completing 38 of 57 passes for 338 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception returned for a touchdown as the Lions lost 41–33 despite a late rally. During a Week 7 matchup against his former team, the Rams, Goff threw for 268 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions as the Lions lost on the road by a score of 28–19. Three weeks later against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Goff suffered an oblique injury, leaving Tim Boyle to start the following week. Goff returned for the Lions' Thanksgiving game against the Bears, where he threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the narrow 16–14 loss. In the next game against the Vikings, he threw for 296 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception as the Lions narrowly won 29–27, snapping the Lions' 15–game losing streak. Goff was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. The game also marked Goff's first win without head coach Sean McVay, having been a combined 0–16–1 in games with a different head coach. Goff and the Lions went on to win three of their last four games, including the Vikings victory, one against the Cardinals, and a surprising season finale victory over the Packers to finish with a 3–13–1 record.

Goff finished his first season with the Lions with 3,245 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions to go along with 87 rushing yards in 14 games and starts, missing three games due to an injury and being on the COVID-19 reserve list.

In the season-opener against the Eagles, Goff threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, but threw an interception returned for a touchdown as the Lions lost by a score of 38–35. In the next game against the Washington Commanders, he threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns during the 36–27 victory. In the Week 2 game against the Commanders, Goff produced his sixth straight home game with two or more passing touchdowns, establishing a Lions franchise record. Two weeks later, Goff again threw four touchdown passes, and this time added a tenure-high 378 passing yards during a 48–45 loss to the Seahawks.

Goff finished the 2022 season with the Lions with 4,438 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 17 games and starts. He was named to his third Pro Bowl as an alternative, replacing the Super Bowl-bound Jalen Hurts. Goff was the first Lions quarterback to receive a Pro Bowl selection since Stafford in 2014. He was ranked 66th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.

Career statistics

Career highlights

Awards and honors

NFL

NFC champion (2018)

5× Pro Bowl (2017, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2025)

Pro Bowl Offensive MVP (2024)

PFWA NFL Most Improved Player (2017)

Madden Thanksgiving MVP (2024)

Ranked No. 38 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018

Ranked No. 32 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019

Ranked No. 66 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023

Ranked No. 48 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024

Ranked No. 15 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025

Ranked No. 33 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026

4× FedEx Air Player of the Week – Week 16, 2017, Week 15, 2021, Week 4, 2022, Week 14, 2022

6× NFC Offensive Player of the Week – 2017 (Week 9), 2018 (Week 4), 2019 (Week 13), 2021 (Week 13), 2023 (Week 6), 2024 (Week 4), 2025 (week 2)

NFC Offensive Player of the Month – September 2018, October 2024

College

First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)

Armed Forces Bowl Most Valuable Player (2015)

2× Honorable mention All-Pac-12 (2013, 2014)

Records

Most pass attempts with a perfect passer rating: 33 (tied with Deshaun Watson)

Most pass attempts without an incompletion in a game: 18

First quarterback in NFL history to complete 100% of his passes in a game on more than 10 pass attempts (September 30, 2024, against the Seattle Seahawks)

Most consecutive passes without an interception: 324

Highest touchdown-interception ratio: 4.14

Lowest interception percentage in a single season: 1.2% (2022)

Highest completion percentage in a post-season game: 81% (2023)

Highest completion percentage in a single season: 72.4% (2024)

Highest single season passer rating: 111.8 (2024)

Most completed passes in a single game: 45 (September 29, 2019, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Most 4th quarter comebacks in a single season: 4 (2018; tied with Norm Van Brocklin (1955), Jim Everett (1989), Marc Bulger (2003), and Sam Bradford (2012))

Personal life

Goff has an enzyme deficiency that does not allow his body to break down proteins. Among other difficulties, it creates an inability to process red meat.

During the summer of 2019, Goff launched his own line of clothing called "JG16". In March 2020, Goff donated $250,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank during the coronavirus pandemic. Partnering with his clothing line "JG16" and Merit, Goff founded the Detroit Foundation, which donates profits to funding university scholarships.

Goff became engaged to longtime girlfriend Christen Harper on June 16, 2022. They met on the celebrity dating app Raya. Harper is the co-winner of the 2021 Sports Illustrated Swim Search for new models and was named co–rookie of the year following her 2022 appearance in the swimsuit issue. On June 22, 2024, Goff and Harper were married in a private ceremony in Ojai, California. Their daughter was born on July 15, 2025.

In 2024, Goff worked with the Give Merit’s FATE program at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. He contributed four-year scholarships to five students.