Philip Rivers (born December 8, 1981 in Decatur, Alabama) is a professional American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 NFL Draft as one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college football at North Carolina State University. Through week 13 of the 2009 NFL season - Rivers' career quarterback rating is 95.4, second all-time only to Steve Young, among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts. (Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning stands at 95.3). Also, among active QBs - Rivers' starting quarterback winning percentage of .684 ranks fourth-best behind Tom Brady (.775), Ben Roethlisberger (.704), and Tony Romo (.688).

After starting Chargers quarterback Drew Brees went to the New Orleans Saints after the 2005 season, Rivers was named the starter and led the Chargers to a 14-2 record in his first season. In 2007, he helped the Chargers win their first playoff game since 1994 after beating the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the 2007 playoffs and eventually leading them to the AFC Championship game. He has a career total of eleven 4th quarter comebacks, his most recent being on Sunday, November 8, 2009, where he led the Chargers to a 21-20 win over the New York Giants with less than 30 seconds left.

Rivers worked as a waterboy at Decatur High School, in Decatur, Alabama, where his father Steve was the head coach of the football team. As part of a fifth-grade project, he had to make a poster about his dreams and aspirations. On the poster, he pasted his face over that of a Minnesota Vikings player who had appeared on a cover of Sports Illustrated. He has worn the number 17 since ninth grade; it is in honor of his father, who wore the same number in high school. Though residing in his hometown of Decatur, Philip played high school ball at Athens High School in nearby Athens, Alabama where his teammates jokingly gave him the nickname "McFishy Tush" for his love of McRib sandwiches with tartar sauce.