Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says this will be his final NFL season: ‘This is it’
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- Aaron Rodgers, 42, says this season with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be his final NFL campaign after signing a one-year deal on Monday.
- The four-time MVP’s announcement seems more definitive than last year’s claim that he was “pretty sure” 2025 would be his NFL swan song.
- Rodgers returns to a Steelers team he guided to a 10-7 record and AFC North title, lured back by a reunion with coach Mike McCarthy after Mike Tomlin’s departure.
Aaron Rodgers is done.
Or he will be in a few months.
For sure this time — or at least that’s what the 42-year-old quarterback seemed to tell reporters Wednesday in his first public comments since signing a one-year deal Monday to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second season and his 22nd overall.
A reporter asked Rodgers if he believed 2026 might be his final season in the NFL or if that’s something he can even think about right now. Rodgers immediately nodded and answered, “Yes.”
Star receiver A.J. Brown is dealt to the New England Patriots by the Philadelphia Eagles, who receive two draft picks in return on a busy offseason Monday in the NFL.
The same reporter followed by asking, “As in your last year?”
Rodgers nodded again and replied, “This is it, yep.”
That sounds like a pretty definitive answer ... more than 11 months ago when Rodgers stated on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he was “pretty sure” the 2025 season would be his NFL swan song.
The four-time league MVP also said at that time that once his playing career ended, he would be out of the public eye for good. No word on whether that remains his intention this time.
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Rodgers spent the first 18 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers and two with the New York Jets. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XLV, when the Packers defeated the Steelers under coach Mike McCarthy.
Last year, Rodgers led the Steelers to a 10-7 record and the AFC North title, completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Longtime coach Mike Tomlin stepped down after the playoff loss to the Houston Texans, and the Steelers hired McCarthy as his replacement.
Rodgers told reporters that he had thought he was likely finished playing after Tomlin left, but he started thinking about returning once his former coach of 14 years was in the fold.
“There’s definitely a full-circle moment,” Rodgers said.
