The Pittsburgh Steelers already know Aaron Rodgers doesn’t plan to be playing football this time next year. Now there is a much clearer picture of what he hopes to be doing instead.
During Pittsburgh’s Thursday night matchup with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 1, Prime Video play-by-play announcer Al Michaels shared a conversation the broadcast crew had with Rodgers before the game.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Michaels said Rodgers gave them a pretty specific answer when asked where he sees himself a year from now.
“I’ll either be tending to my pregnant wife or I’ll be taking care of my newborn,” Rodgers told the broadcast crew, according to Michaels.
For a quarterback who has spent much of the past two years answering questions about when his NFL career would end, that sounded like another pretty firm indication that Rodgers’ plans have moved well beyond football.
Aaron Rodgers Retirement Plan Comes Into Focus
Rodgers hasn’t left much room for mystery about his future this season.
The 42-year-old returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal in May, giving him a 22nd NFL season and another run with Mike McCarthy. Shortly after signing, Rodgers made it clear that there wouldn’t be a 23rd.
“This is it,” Rodgers said in May.
He doubled down again at training camp. When asked whether there was any chance he might reconsider after the season, Rodgers said there was “zero debate” that 2026 would be his final year.
His return itself almost didn’t happen.
Rodgers thought the 2025 season might be the end after Mike Tomlin stepped away. The Steelers’ decision to hire McCarthy, Rodgers’ longtime head coach with the Green Bay Packers, changed that. Rodgers said he talked with his wife before deciding to come back, and she gave him the green light for “one more year.”
Now his latest comment gives that phrase a little more meaning.
Steelers QB Already Looking Toward Life After Football
Rodgers entered Thursday night’s game with 700 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions through Pittsburgh’s first three games. The Steelers were 2-1, with Rodgers coming off his best performance of the young season in a 30-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The football part, for now, is still very much in front of him.
But Rodgers has also been unusually definitive about what comes next.
He has spent more than two decades in the NFL since the Packers selected him No. 24 overall in 2005. Along the way came four NFL MVP awards, a Super Bowl championship and Super Bowl MVP honors, 10 Pro Bowl selections and a career that will eventually end in Canton.
Pittsburgh gave him one more season. McCarthy gave him one more reunion. Rodgers’ wife helped give him the push to take it.
There has always been at least some skepticism whenever Rodgers has talked retirement in the past, especially after he returned for 2026 despite once believing 2025 might be the end.
This time, though, he keeps removing the doubt himself.
Rodgers has said “this is it.” He has said there is “zero debate.” And now, when asked where he expects to be a year from now, his answer had nothing to do with a football field.
If Rodgers gets his way, the next chapter apparently won’t involve another comeback. It will involve starting a family.
Aaron Rodgers Drops Personal Post-NFL Hint Before Steelers-Browns Game