Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a surefire future Hall of Fame player and perhaps the best signal-caller in the history of the Green Bay Packers organization, is retiring from the NFL — though not until after the upcoming season.
Rodgers announced his intentions during a media session on Wednesday, May 20.
“Aaron Rodgers says ‘yes’ this is his last year,” Brooke Prior of ESPN reported on social media.
“This is it,” Rodgers told media members.
Rodgers inked a one-year deal this offseason to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for his second campaign with that organization. He will team up with head coach Mike McCarthy, who coached the QB for 13 years in Green Bay and with whom Rodgers won the sole Super Bowl of his career, for the 2026 season.
The Packers traded Rodgers to the New York Jets ahead of the 2023 season, where he also played for two years. Prior to that, Rodgers won four MVPs across 18 campaigns (15 as the regular starter) in Green Bay.
All told, Rodgers has tallied 66,274 yards, 527 TDs and 123 INTs on 65.1 percent passing across 264 games played. He has a regular-season record of 163-93-1 and is 12-11 in the playoffs. His interception percentage (1.4) and passer rating (102.2) are currently all-time NFL records.
Rodgers, who has earned nearly $395 million during his playing career and will eclipse the $400 million mark with his salary for the upcoming season, will turn 43 years old in December and is the oldest player in the league heading into 2026.
Aaron Rodgers Has Under-Achieved in Playoffs With Packers, Steelers
GettyPittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers became the starting QB for the Packers in 2008 and led the franchise to the postseason 11 times. That included five trips to the NFC Championship Game, though just one Super Bowl appearance and one championship ring.
Given Rodgers’ individual greatness and longevity, the biggest knock against his career is the relative lack of playoff success.
Green Bay lost two of its four conference title appearances by just one score, though the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers blew Rodgers and company out in 2016 and 2019 by 23 points and 17 points, respectively.
Packers Alienated Aaron Rodgers by Drafting QB Jordan Love in 2020
GettyQuarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.
Despite a rocky relationship with McCarthy toward the end of their shared tenure, circumstances between Rodgers and the organization got even bumpier after that — a development that coincided with general manager Brian Gutekunst’s decision to select Jordan Love late in Round 1 of the 2020 draft.
Rodgers pushed for a trade both privately and publicly after Love landed with the Packers. However, Rodgers also responded by winning back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021.
He led the team to its most recent NFC title appearance following the 2020 campaign, which ended in a five-point loss to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers got back to the playoffs in 2021 but fell to the 49ers by three points in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers went 8-9 during his final season in Green Bay, which included a four-game winning streak to get back to .500 heading into Week 18 against the then-upstart Detroit Lions. A win in that final contest would have propelled the Packers back into the playoffs, but the Lions eked out a four-point victory in Green Bay that ended Rodgers’ tenure with the organization.
The Packers have made the postseason in each of the last three years with Love at the helm, though the team is 1-3 over those trips and has played in the Divisional Round just once.
Ex-Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Makes Monumental Career Announcement