As I watched Aaron Rodgers not once think to towel himself off while podcast host Pat McAfee spent 56 minutes slobbering over him Wednesday, it occurred to me that we’re never going to be free of the quarterback. And when I say “we,’’ I don’t mean Chicago. I mean humankind.
Despite repeated protestations that it isn’t all about him, Rodgers couldn’t hide that his decision to play football for the Jets in 2023 rather than retire as a Packer has a lot to do with spite. And spite comes from ego, not from a love of football.
He said Wednesday that, when he came out of a darkness retreat a few weeks ago, it was clear to him that the franchise had changed its mind about wanting him back. He then went from being 90% sure he was retiring to being sure he wanted to play for the Jets. Never underestimate the power of revenge.
Rodgers will be moving to New York once the Packers and the Jets complete their trade, but it doesn’t mean he’ll retreat into the darkness, therapeutic or otherwise. No, if Wednesday’s McAfee podcast reminded us of anything, it’s that Rodgers likes himself and likes talking about himself in equal measure. He’ll have an even bigger platform in New York with which to act out whatever drama he chooses to wade into next.
He’ll get a warm welcome in the Big Apple after spending the past two years wearing out his 18-year welcome in Green Bay. Who turns on a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player? Fans who are tired of a superstar playing with their emotions. Fans who are tired of waiting and waiting and waiting for him to make a decision on his future. Exhausted fans.
Now the decision has arrived, and many of those same people are relieved it’s over. But it’s not over, if Rodgers’ recent history means anything. He spent almost an hour Wednesday going through each step in his decision to agree to a trade to the Jets. You can bet there’s more where that came from, and you can bet as the days, months and years go by, we’re going to hear all about it from the quarterback. When you’re the hero of every story you tell, you have a lot to say.
Rodgers never once mentioned how he had strung along the Packers and their fans after the season ended, which is the same thing he had done two years before. These are the Packers fans he expressed so much love for Wednesday.
He criticized media members for getting information wrong in the lead-up to his announcement. If they were wrong, shame on them. But Rodgers admitted Wednesday that podcast co-host A.J. Hawk, a former Packers teammate, knew of the quarterback’s leanings toward the Jets more than a week before Wednesday’s news. That means Rodgers kept everyone hanging except his closest confidantes. His silence fed the social-media beast. Rodgers knew it would, yet did nothing about it, except tease that a decision would be coming soon.
Here’s a guy who sneers at the chorus of rumors while silently directing the choir with his baton. Only someone who thinks he’s smarter than everybody else would figure no one would notice the absurdity in that.
All of this might sound harsh, but please know that I love Rodgers the quarterback and had very little problem with Rodgers the person until about two years ago. And now?
Great quarterback. Annoying diva.
In 2021, he missed voluntary meetings and workouts, leading to months of media conjecture that he wanted out of Green Bay. He eventually signed a massive contract extension with the Packers, then won his second straight MVP award. What followed was one thing after another: a breakup with another famous actress, a clarification that the next woman he was dating was not a practicing witch and the revelation that he had misled the media into believing he had been vaccinated against Covid-19. Only when he tested positive for the virus did it come out that he hadn’t gotten the vaccine. The public response was harsh.
Bears fans are celebrating that Rodgers is finally out of the NFC North. They experienced decades of chronic pain, thanks to him and Brett Favre. They’re happy to take their chances that Jordan Love won’t be nearly as good as the quarterback he’s replacing. We’ll see. But one thing is sure: They’ll never be done with Rodgers.
He’ll work his hardest in the offseason to meet the challenge he’s put up for himself. He’ll do all he can to make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself after putting Green Bay and the NFL through his nonsense the past two years.
He has work to do. He’ll be the first to tell you that. And tell you. And tell you.
Does anyone see the incongruity of going on a darkness retreat to embrace silence and then not being able to shut up about yourself on a podcast?
