Aaron Rodgers introduced on Wednesday that this season shall be his closing 12 months within the NFL.
Rodgers, who turns 43 in December, simply inked a one-year cope with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’re wandering the quarterback desert and not using a true long-term plan.
And that’s solely a part of what makes Rodgers’ retirement announcement really feel considerably unlikely. He’s coming into his twenty second season within the NFL, that means that he’s been within the league half so long as he’s been alive.
A retirement announcement appears anticipated. He’s going to be 43, he’s performed for 20 years and has remodeled $400 million in NFL contracts and bonuses. However Rodgers feasts on consideration. Over the previous couple of seasons, his free company choices have been lengthy, drawn out processes. However the NFL provides Rodgers that spotlight that he may not be capable of discover elsewhere.
There’s nothing left for Rodgers to perform on the sector. He’s one of many all-time greats, particularly on this era of quarterbacks. However off the sector, stepping away from being an NFL participant will dim a number of the limelight that Rodgers seemingly desperately craves.
After all, he might turn out to be a tv analyst or podcast character. He’s already had standing segments on the “Pat McAfee Present” that obtained large rankings. However they delivered large rankings as a result of Rodgers was an lively participant who wasn’t shy about voicing his hesitations about conspiracy theories together with his hesitancy to simply accept the COVID-19 vaccination to play within the NFL.
With out the standing of an lively NFL participant, Rodgers’ entire shtick turns into simply one other random ex-athlete with weird takes and beliefs. There are many different ex-athletes doing this already. Rodgers being an lively participant is what made his schtick so distinctive.
There’s been no scarcity of controversies surrounding Rodgers over the previous couple of seasons. At one level, he was a mysterious determine that had a falling out along with his mother and father. Lately, we’ve seen him present dishonesty to the media surrounding his COVID-19 vaccination standing and yearly threats to retire from the NFL with a view to host “Jeopardy!”.
The league could have a void with out Rodgers in it. Love him or hate him, he’s a polarizing determine that received’t be the identical as soon as he retires, even when he maintains an lively voice in soccer dialog. The NFL has loads of bizarre gamers, and even a couple of bizarre quarterbacks, however none of them have the attract and intrigue that Rodgers was capable of manufacture during the last 20 years.
Possibly the retirement announcement was one other exaggeration. This time subsequent 12 months, perhaps he’s signing one other one-year contract with a Pittsburgh staff caught in impartial. But when it’s the finish, what a loopy trip it has been.
