Start printing the t-shirts, Aaron Rodgers is headed for a retirement tour in 2025.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback told The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday that he is "pretty sure" 2025 will be the final season of his storied NFL career.
"That's why we just did a one-year deal -- Steelers didn't need to put any extra years on that or anything," Rodgers said. "This was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace for the career that I've had. I mean, I've played freaking 20 years, you know? It's been a long run, and I've enjoyed it. What better to place to finish than in one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL with Mike Tomlin and a great group of leadership and great guys and a city that expects you to win."
Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.6 million contract with the Steelers earlier this month. It was indicative of where Rodgers stood in his football journey, one in which he took plenty of time to decide whether he even wanted to continue playing this year.
In the end, he chose one more season with a storied club that touts stability as a franchise hallmark.
A four-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champ and future Hall of Famer, Rodgers will enter his 21st season with 62,952 career passing yards, which is seventh all time, and 503 passing touchdowns. If everything goes according to plan, Rodgers will likely pass Philip Rivers (63,440 yards) and another legendary Steeler, Ben Roethlisberger (64,088 yards), and could surpass Brett Favre (508 passing touchdowns) and Peyton Manning (539 passing touchdowns) in his final season.
For those who love sports for narratives, they'll eagerly sign up for one more season of Rodgers in 2025, especially after his two-season stint with the Jets proved to be little more than a flop. But Rodgers isn't playing one final season to tie a storybook bow on his career.
"I mean, I think it's not really 'can't go out like this,'" Rodgers said on Tuesday. "I love the game, and there's been a beautiful relationship. It was my first love when I was 6 years old, dreaming about playing quarterback, being in the Super Bowl and winning a Super Bowl. I wanted to be all in, and I had so many other things going on in my life that were taking my mind and my energy elsewhere. That's why I appreciate how Mike (Tomlin) was the entire time, just being able to have those conversations, honest conversations every single week was really meaningful to me. And the way that I was welcomed in was really cool. I wanted to be there for minicamp once I decided I was going to be all in, but I didn't need this. I didn't need it at all.
"I don't feel the need to prove anything to anybody or don't have any chip on my shoulder that I need to hold on to. I don't want the attention -- I know that's a narrative out there. When this is all done, it's Keyser Soze -- you won't see me. I won't be in the public. I don't want to live a public life. That's why it's so strange what's going on right now with my private life, because I don't want to live a life in the public eye. I'm not going to be in the public eye. When this is done, I'm done, and you won't see me. And I'm looking forward to that.
"But while I'm in it, and for this year, I'm going to give the Steelers everything that I got and empty the tank and be super comfortable and satisfied with whatever happens. Obviously, we dream about playing at the highest level in the biggest games."
Pittsburgh carried those same ambitions into the 2024 season, but ended up with a quarterbacks room filled by Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. In the end, neither was able to elevate a Steelers offense that was thin at receiver, leading to the departures of Wilson, Fields and George Pickens, with the latter being traded to the Dallas Cowboys following the Steelers' acquisition of DK Metcalf.
Rodgers and Metcalf lead what Pittsburgh feels was a productive offseason that has better positioned the club for success in 2025. It was enough to convince Rodgers to commit to one more season.
He'll hope to ride off into the sunset of relative anonymity with the glow of success surrounding him.
