Aaron Rodgers is, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever lace ’em up. A first-round pick for the Green Bay Packers who took the baton from another legend in Brett Favre, he somehow outdid the ones before him and cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats. Tom Brady himself has acknowledged Rodgers as the best thrower of the football ever, and his talents as a quarterback, whether it be speed, accuracy, or power, are second to none.
A four-time MVP and Super Bowl champion, he was the face of the organization for close to two decades, setting numerous franchise and NFL records that haven’t been broken to this day. Some, like the lowest interception percentage in a season (0.3), sound unbelievable. But after spending 18 seasons in Green Bay, he had one of the ugliest exits imaginable for a true all-time great. As he prepares to face his former team for the first time since then, we take a look back at one of the messiest divorces in recent football history.
Aaron Rodgers and Packers Divorce Saga
“Feel so good about my time there because damn near everything great in my life is because of my football career, and my football career starts, and will end one day, with Green Bay,” Rodgers said to Rob Demovsky. “So got a lot of love for all those memories.”
That is the mindset that Rodgers has portrayed as he faces his former team. However, the breakup between the two sides wasn’t as smooth as the quote might lead you to believe. Despite back-to-back MVPs to open the 2020s, the Packers could not take that next step in the playoffs.
Finally, Green Bay started thinking about the future and traded back into the first round to select Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick in 2020. With the way things had moved between Rodgers and Favre all those years back, the writing was clearly on the wall.
But that was just the beginning of the end. The real decline between the two sides began during the 2022 season. In the offseason, rumors of a trade, or even potential retirement, made the rounds before a three-year extension worth $150.8 million silenced those critics.
However, the noise was only about to get louder. The team went 8-9 and missed the playoffs, with Rodgers having an underwhelming final game that could have potentially secured a playoff berth. From there, things rapidly spiraled out of control.
After the season, the 10-time Pro Bowler made it clear that he was unsure of his career’s direction before entering a “darkness retreat” that involved staying isolated and unconnected to the outside world.
Following his sabbatical, he told anyone who would listen that the Packers had made it clear that he needed to retire or find a new team, even as Green Bay maintained the position that it was Rodgers who did not get in touch with them, despite general manager Brian Gutekunst trying on various occasions.
With the disconnect at an all-time high, a split felt inevitable, before Rodgers announced his decision to move on with the New York Jets on “The Pat McAfee Show,” before a deal was made official.
As part of the trade, Rodgers, along with the Packers’ first and fifth-round picks in 2023, would go to the Jets in exchange for their first, second (via the Cleveland Browns), and sixth-round picks in the same draft.
Unfortunately, his tenure in New York was far from great, leading to a third team in four years, as he wound up on the Pittsburgh Steelers to play under legendary head coach Mike Tomlin, where he has a 4-2 record going into the game against the Packers, as they are the first seed in the AFC North.
