Aaron Rodgers says he has a deal to stay with the Packers
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL most valuable player, has agreed to remain with the team, concluding his yearlong back-and-forth with the club about his future.
After multiple reports that Rodgers had agreed to a new contract, the quarterback posted a statement to Twitter that confirmed he had decided to stay with the only franchise he has played for in his 17-year NFL career.
“YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate,” Rodgers wrote, adding that he was “very excited” to remain in Green Bay.
Pat McAfee, a sports podcaster and close friend of Rodgers’, was first to report Rodgers’ agreement with the team Tuesday, which was quickly followed by an NFL Network report that he had reached a deal that would make him the league’s highest-paid player. Rodgers’ statement batted down that account.
The agreement seemingly resolves a highly publicized rift between Rodgers, 38, and general manager Brian Gutekunst (and the Packers’ front office), which was rooted in the player’s desire to be more involved in management decisions.
While Rodgers turned in a second consecutive MVP season, the tension between the men amplified scrutiny of Rodgers’ off-field missteps last season, including his admission that he misled reporters about his vaccination status after testing positive for the coronavirus in November and his lashing out at “cancel culture” in an interview with McAfee in the same month.
His public comments there and on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he said he had petitioned the NFL to reconsider its vaccination policies, made him a lightning rod for the support and derision of politicians, medical experts and people on both sides of a debate over inoculating against COVID-19.
On the first day of the 2021 draft, one year after the Packers selected a quarterback, Jordan Love, in the first round, reports surfaced that Rodgers was upset with team executives and that he did not want to return. Rodgers had completed one of the best seasons of his career and was the league MVP, but he balked at not having enough say in building the team roster, a gripe that culminated with the team drafting his potential successor.
Despite Rodgers’ individual accolades, the Packers had lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in the NFC championship game to end the 2020 season, continuing Rodgers’ drought of Super Bowl appearances since winning in the 2010 season. Before that game, Rodgers told reporters that his future with the team was a “beautiful mystery.”
Rodgers skipped all of Green Bay’s voluntary workouts, and as training camp approached, he and receiver Davante Adams posted identical pictures of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on Instagram, hinting that the coming season could be their “last dance” together in Green and Gold. The Packers voided the final year of Rodgers’ contract, allowing him more control and freedom to be traded. Adams is expected to receive Green Bay’s franchise tag this week.
In July 2021, on the first day of training camp, Rodgers held a 31-minute news conference. For the first time, he explained his frustrations. “I just expressed my desire to be more involved in conversations directly affecting my job,” he said, adding that he felt the organization had not used him to help recruit free agents.
“If you can’t commit to me past 2021, and I’m not a part of the recruiting process in free agency, if I’m not a part of the future,” Rodgers said, “instead of letting me be a lame-duck quarterback, if you want to take a chance and move forward, then go ahead and do it.”
Rodgers tested positive for the coronavirus in November, months after he told reporters that he was “immunized” against the disease. The NFL fined him $14,650 for violating protocols for unvaccinated players, which included not wearing a mask during his weekly news conferences and attending a Halloween party.
But as the 2021 season progressed, with Rodgers leading Green Bay to a 13-4 record and the top seed in the playoffs, his relationship with Gutekunst and other members of the Packers’ front office improved to the point that Rodgers said he would take time to assess his next steps after the team’s season ended with a dispiriting loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
Rodgers’ return nails down a major part of the Packers’ offseason puzzle and forces other teams searching for an upgrade at quarterback to look elsewhere. Facing salary cap concerns and a host of unrestricted free agents, Gutekunst can now turn his attention to the free-agent market, which opens March 16. Rodgers’ impending deal is expected to clear some cap space to allow management to address other players’ contracts, perhaps the most important — and potentially not the last — of his contributions to personnel matters.
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