Getty David Bakhtiari #69 and Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the first half during the NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on January 15, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers are getting the band back together, and several major members of the team’s roster couldn’t be more thrilled about it.
Broadcast personality and Rodgers’ confidant Pat McAfee reported Tuesday, March 8 via Twitter that the QB would return to Green Bay next season. The news of Rodgers’ decision came after months of trade speculation that connected the two-time reigning MVP to interested franchises across the league, from the Denver Broncos to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
BREAKING: According to my sources.. @AaronRodgers12 will officially be returning to the Green Bay Packers.
There is no deal in place currently but there is said to be a Cap Friendly deal on the way.
Retirement was a real consideration & in the end
🗣 HE IS BACK WITH THE PACK
“BREAKING: According to my sources, @AaronRodgers12 will officially be returning to the Green Bay Packers,” McAfee tweeted. “There is no deal in place currently but there is said to be a cap-friendly deal on the way. Retirement was a real consideration & in the end, HE IS BACK WITH THE PACK.”
Also on Tuesday, the Packers utilized the franchise tag option to retain All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams on a one-year deal worth just north of $20 million. It was long speculated that the fates of Rodgers and Adams in Green Bay were linked. That assertion proved accurate, as the news of Adams’ tag broke just hours after the public found out Rodgers would remain a member of the team moving forward.
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Rodgers’ Teammates Go Wild After News of His Return to Green Bay
GettyWide receiver Aaron Jones #33 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates with quarterback Aaron Rodgers #12 and wide receiver Randall Cobb #18 after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on October 17, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Several of Rodgers’ teammates were unsurprisingly elated to hear the news the QB would be donning the green and gold in 2022, and they weren’t shy about sharing their feelings Tuesday.
It started with Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, whose California wedding Rodgers officiated over the weekend.
My gift is about to be dope AF @AaronRodgers12. Please ask him for me @PatMcAfeeShow and @OfficialAJHawk. I’ll be on my honeymoon, and out of the country. Thanks in advance to all parties. #blessed #dinnerfor2
“My gift is about to be dope AF @AaronRodgers12. Please ask him for me @PatMcAfeeShow and @OfficialAJHawk. I’ll be on my honeymoon and out of the country. Thanks in advance to all parties,” Bakhtiari tweeted.
Other Green Bay players like running back Aaron Jones, who reworked his contract to help create space for offseason moves, were a bit more chest out and to the point.
I tried to tell y’all 🤷🏾♂️
I tried to tell y’all 🤷🏽♂️,” Jones tweeted.
For wide receiver Allen Lazard, no words were even necessary.
“😂 😂 😂 😂 ,” Lazard posted on Twitter.
And some members of the Green Bay roster were simply giddy and couldn’t contain it. Backup quarterback Kurt Benkert, for instance, posted a comical and celebratory video featuring faux versions of Rodgers, McAfee, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and several others.
“Been sitting on this video for awhile now,” Benkert tweeted.
Details of Rodgers’ Return to Green Bay Yet to be Announced
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers drops back to pass during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 2, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The exact details of Rodgers’ return to the Packers have yet to be made public. It was unclear if the two sides had come to terms on an official agreement as of Tuesday.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier that day that Rodgers and Green Bay had agreed in principle to a four-year, $200 million extension that included $153 million in guaranteed money. The deal, had it been real, would have been the largest annual contract signed by any player in NFL history.
Rodgers, however, broke his long-held social media silence to refute the report from Rapoport. That doesn’t mean the details Rapoport reported won’t turn out to be accurate, only that they weren’t as of Tuesday, per Rodgers himself.
“Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the @packers next year,” Rodgers tweeted. “However, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I ‘signed.’ I’m very excited to be back 💪 #year18 ❤️.”
Green Bay’s odds to win next year’s Super Bowl jumped with the official news of Rodgers’ return. The Packers are currently +1000, per Sports Illustrated’s SI Sportsbook, good enough for fourth place out of all NFL teams.
Leading Green Bay are the defending champion Los Angeles Rams (+900), the Buffalo Bills (+700) and the Kansas City Chiefs (+650).