Aaron Rodgers wanted to set the record straight. But there were no hard answers about his future.
During an appearance Thursday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” on which he’s a paid regular guest, Rodgers said he is dealing with personal matters with members of his inner circle and that is a reason he has not made a decision on whether he’ll play in 2025.
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Rodgers said he has been upfront about what is going on with the teams he has talked to.
“Retirement could still be a possibility but right now my focus will be on my personal life, and that’s what I’ve told the coaches,” Rodgers told McAfee.
He did say he wasn’t waiting around for the Minnesota Vikings because he wants to play there, which has been rumored.
“That’s not accurate either,” Rodgers said.
Aaron Rodgers is still weighing his options, making many in the NFL continue to wait. (Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images)
(USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
He talked about wanting to set the record straight and said many of the media reports and rumors have been false. He did tell McAfee he has told teams he’d play for $10 million, which is far below the market for a starting quarterback. He said that he hasn’t been “stringing anybody along.”
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“I have a lot of things that are taking my attention, and have, beginning in January, away from football,” Rodgers said. “That’s where I’ve been focusing most of my attention on. Making a commitment to a team is a big thing.”
Rodgers didn’t rule out playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers — he said he tried to keep his meeting with the Steelers a secret, even flying into a different airport, but the word got out anyway — or anyone else (aside from the New York Jets) in 2025.
When Rodgers was finally asked directly by McAfee about the possibility of playing with the Steelers, he didn’t give a direct answer.
“I am trying to be open to anything and not specifically attached to anything when it comes to this decision,” Rodgers said. “I’m not holding anybody hostage, I really want to emphasize that. I’ve been upfront from the beginning. I don’t mean any disrespect to any player on their team, veteran or young guy that comes in, I’m just going through a lot in my personal life that has to take precedent at this point. That’s a big commitment and when the commitment is made it has to be an all-in type commitment.”
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He was asked if there was a deadline on telling the Steelers about his decision.
“Listen, this entire time I haven’t felt like I’ve owed anybody any sort of decision at any point,” Rodgers said. “This is my life. Things are different now. My personal life is different. I have stuff in the inner circle that I’m intimately close to that’s really important to me. And I’ve been upfront with them about that. And I said, ‘Listen, if you need to move on and do something, by all means. Nothing but love and respect.'”
Rodgers did say that his exit from the Jets didn’t go smoothy. He flew across the country to meet with the Jets. Rodgers said after 15 seconds after new Jets general manager Darren Mougey joined the meeting with new Jets coach Aaron Glenn, Rodgers was asked if he was interested in playing this season, then was told the Jets were moving on without him. Rodgers said he planned for a long meeting and it took about 15 minutes.
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“I was kind of shocked,” Rodgers said. “Not shocked because I didn’t think that was a possibility. But shocked because I flew across country and you could have told me this on the phone.”
Based on Rodgers’ interview, the wait on what he’ll do will continue for a while.
There hasn’t been an update on Rodgers’ plans in weeks. The Steelers themselves haven’t heard from Rodgers since a March 21 meeting, CBS’ Aditi Kinkhabwala reported.
Rodgers’ options became more limited as he waited to make a decision. The Minnesota Vikings were reported to be a preferred destination, and although the Vikings had discussions with him they ultimately decided to not pursue him.
That seemed to leave the Steelers or retirement as the two main options. The Steelers were looking for a quarterback and did make the playoffs last season. If Rodgers wanted to keep playing, not many teams had an opening, and the teams with shaky quarterbacks situations weren’t obvious playoff contenders in 2025.
Even though Rodgers to the Steelers was the obvious match, the situation has dragged on through the past few weeks without a strong indication of how it might resolve. There’s still no resolution after Rodgers tried to clear things up.
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