Background and career
Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft. Flynn was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints.
Matthew Flynn, born and raised in Tyler, Texas, is the son of Alvin and Ruth Flynn. Matthew Flynn's father, a civil attorney, was a quarterback at Baylor in the 1960s, and his mother is a former collegiate dance team director and choreographer at Kilgore College and Tyler Junior College. Matt has two brothers, Adam and Bill, and two sisters, Rebecca and Amanda.
Flynn attended Robert E. Lee High School where he was coached by Mike Owens, and was teammates with Justin Warren, Brandon Pettigrew, and Ciron Black. As a junior in 2001, Flynn completed 101 of 199 passes for 1,650 yards, 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions for the season, leading Lee to the 5A-I playoffs, where they lost in the second round to eventual state champion Mesquite High School. As a senior, he completed 124 of 206 passes for 1,679 yards and 9 touchdowns, and had 305 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns. He led Lee to a state semifinal game appearance despite playing the last four games of the season with a broken foot. After his senior season, 247 Sports listed Flynn as the top-rated Texas high school quarterback in 2003. He was a member of the SuperPrep Texas 124, the Dallas Morning News Texas Top 100 and the Tyler Morning Telegraph All-East Texas Football Team. He chose LSU over Tennessee, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M.
Flynn redshirted the 2003 season at LSU. In 2004, he served as third-string quarterback behind starter Marcus Randall and backup JaMarcus Russell. He also doubled as LSU's holder on placekicks. Flynn played in all 12 games, but only three games as quarterback. His collegiate first completion went to Xavier Carter for a 67-yard touchdown against Mississippi State. Flynn also made a short appearance in the 2004 Capital One Bowl, completing 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards in a 25–30 losing effort against Iowa. He finished the season with 4 completions on 10 attempts for 99 yards and 1 touchdown. The departure of Randall left Russell and Flynn battling for the starting quarterback position in the 2005 season. Russell eventually got the job, leaving Flynn as backup. He played in seven games at quarterback for the Tigers in 2005, completing 27 of 48 passes for 457 yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. In a win over North Texas, Flynn threw a perfect 7-of-7 for 139 yards and 3 touchdowns, all in the fourth quarter. In the 2005 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs, starting quarterback Russell was injured and Flynn finished the game. He was then given the nod to start for the Tigers in the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the University of Miami Hurricanes. In that game, he led the Tigers to a 40–3 rout of Miami. In 2006, Flynn again served as backup to Russell, appearing in seven games. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 133 yards over the season, recording 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Both touchdowns came in a 49–0 rout against Kentucky on October 14, 2006.
With JaMarcus Russell's departure, Flynn became a starter as a fifth-year senior. He started every game that season except the SEC Championship in which he was injured. He finished the season with 2,407 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In addition, he rushed for 215 yards and 4 touchdowns. Flynn threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Byrd to win the game against Auburn on October 20, 2007, with 1 second remaining on the clock; Colt David kicked the extra point to make the final score LSU 30, Auburn 24. He then led the Tigers to a 4th quarter comeback against Alabama. Flynn and the Tigers then beat Louisiana Tech the following weekend and climb back to the #1 spot after a loss by then-#1 Ohio State. The following week the Tigers beat Ole Miss. In his final game at Tiger Stadium, Flynn and the Tigers lost to Arkansas, seemingly losing any chance at the national title. However, LSU, without Flynn, beat Tennessee for the SEC Championship, and losses by Missouri and West Virginia vaulted LSU back into the title game in New Orleans. On January 7, 2008, Flynn led LSU to a BCS National Championship, beating Ohio State 38–24. Flynn completed 19 of 27 passes and 4 touchdowns, and was named offensive MVP of the game. The Tigers finished the season ranked No. 1 in the polls.
Flynn was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round (209th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft. On July 23, he was signed to a four-year rookie contract through the 2011 season. In 2008, Flynn won the competition for the back-up role to Aaron Rodgers, beating out fellow rookie and second-round pick Brian Brohm. Flynn was seen as being less talented than Brohm because of Brohm's superior size, arm and foot speed, coupled with the fact that Brohm was selected much higher in the draft compared to Flynn. On December 19, 2010, Flynn made his first NFL start, against the New England Patriots, after starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not cleared medically to start. Flynn threw three touchdown passes; one each to John Kuhn, James Jones and Greg Jennings against New England, but threw an interception that was returned by Kyle Arrington for a touchdown in the second half. The game went down to the final play when Flynn, with the ball at the New England 15-yard line, lost it when he was sacked. The Packers lost the game 31–27. Flynn completed 23 of 37 passes for 254 yards in the loss. Flynn was the backup to Rodgers when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011. On January 1, 2012, Flynn started the final game of the season, against the Detroit Lions. He threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in the 45–41 victory, both of which set single game Packers records.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
