Aaron Rodgers is 41 years old, and he’s already contemplated retirement before. He is currently “pretty sure” that this will be his final season in the NFL, but it’s not set in stone yet. If it is, he already knows what he’s going to do right after. And if it isn’t, he still plans on doing something touching and significant whenever retirement does officially arrive.
Aaron Rodgers plans to retire a Packer after long tenure
Though the last few seasons of Aaron Rodgers have been both mediocre and for other teams, he is a future Hall of Famer from his time with the Green Bay Packers. His time with the team may have ended in rough fashion, but that doesn’t change what happened before then. Apparently, it doesn’t sour the relationship whatsoever.
The legendary QB plans to sign a one-day contract and retire from the NFL as a member of the Packers whenever he decides to hang it up. Plenty of NFL stars do this, especially if they’re so intertwined with a franchise.
“I was there for 18 years,” Rodgers revealed via ESPN reporter Rob Demovsky. “Regardless of when I hang it up, that’s the bulk of my career. I’ll retire a Packer and see what happens after that. I’ve got a lot of love for the organization [and] my time there. They asked this week is it a revenge game or whatever. What do I got to be avenging here? They made me a ton of money. I grew up there, spent some of the best years of my life there. I’ve got nothing but love for the organization.”
Since those 18 years, Rodgers has spent two with the New York Jets and one with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets’ tenure was awful, beginning with a season-ending Achilles injury on his first drive. It ended after a disappointing season in 2024, but he’s bounced back in 2025 with the Steelers. It is no small thing that Rodgers wants to retire a Packer.
“It was such a tight-knit group for so long there,” the former MVP said. “I outlasted most of them, but it’s fun, that’s why I 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. I’ve got a lot of love for those memories and a lot of great friends that I still carry with me to this day.”
When things ended, this sort of announcement didn’t seem possible. Rodgers is an enigmatic figure who doesn’t let things go often. He was unhappy, reportedly, when the Packers selected his successor in the 2020 NFL Draft. Then, he requested the trade. Things soured, and Rodgers wanted out, but his time away has seemingly helped him get over that perceived slight. It was always likely that Rodgers would come back like this, but you can never truly tell with Rodgers. Fortunately, there seems to be no lasting ill will, and when Rodgers goes into the Hall of Fame, it’ll be as a member of the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers sort of followed Brett Favre’s example, being replaced by a younger QB after a long time in Green Bay (for Favre, that was Rodgers; for Rodgers, it was Jordan Love) and then leaving for the Jets. Favre then went to the Minnesota Vikings, while Rodgers split from the path and went to Pittsburgh. Favre also came out of retirement more than once, so even if Rodgers, who can still clearly play, does hang them up, there’s always a chance he comes back.
