Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Wants To Retire With The Green Bay Packers

NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is currently wearing the black and gold with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that doesn’t mean he wants to hang up his cleats in Steel City.

“I’ll retire a Packer and see what happens after that,” Rodgers told reporters on Thursday, October 23, referring to the Green Bay Packers, the organization where he spent the first 18 seasons of his NFL career.

On Sunday, October 26, Rodgers will lead the Steelers against the Packers in his first matchup against his former team.

“They asked this week if it is a revenge game or whatever,” Rodgers said on Thursday. “What do I have 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.”

Rodgers has teased his potential retirement at the end of this season, but it’s unclear if he will actually step away from the NFL or if he will consider continuing to play after this year.

In the offseason, Rodgers signed a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers. He last played for the Packers in 2022, before he was traded to the New York Jets in 2023.

His time with the Jets was short-lived and marred with injury and drama.

Rodgers is a 10-time Pro Bowler and a four-time league MVP. He won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers, against the Steelers, and was named the Super Bowl MVP.

“It was such a tight-knit group for so long there,” Rodgers said of his former Green Bay teammates. “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.”

Rodgers will have a shot at history on Sunday as he tries to become the fifth quarterback in NFL history to beat all 32 teams. He has beaten every team under center, except for the Packers.

The Steelers are off to a 4-2 start to the season with Rodgers at the helm, including a win over his other former team, the Jets. The Packers sit at 4-1-1 going into Sunday’s matchup.

The game will be played in Pittsburgh, at Acrisure Stadium. Rodgers said the game would “mean a lot more” if it was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

“Just because of the affection I have for that place,” Rodgers said. “And that hallowed ground of Lambeau Field and all the amazing memories that I have there over the years.”

Rodgers’ situation is not too different from that of another longtime Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, who finished his playing career with another team. He was welcomed back by the Packers with open arms.

Favre was inducted to the Packers Hall of Fame in 2015 and then inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.