The New York Jets are moving on from Aaron Rodgers following a 5-12 record in 2024. Rodgers is set to make his plans for retirement known soon and is exploring new business ventures for what to do with his life after football.
The Jets had meetings with Rodgers about his potential return in 2025. Head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey wanted him around during OTAs and to scale back his comments on The Pat McAfee Show during the season.
However, both parties decided it was better for the four-time NFL MVP not to return.
Per Steve Helling and Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Rodgers “aggressively urged” the Jets to take him back for the next season or two, suggesting the 41-year-old quarterback was willing to put off retirement until after 2026.
When New York denied his request, Rodgers was “like a man going to the gallows.” The NY Post contends Rodgers wanted to play in the NFL if he could be assured a QB1 job, but that seems less certain after the Jets dumped him.
Aaron Rodgers is looking for media jobs
Rodgers is looking for new business ventures in the media.
Per the NY Post:
“Rodgers remains upset over what would be an unbefitting end to his storied career, but has issued a directive to put out feelers for the next phase of his life as he seeks opportunities similar to the one he once had hosting “Jeopardy!,” the source said.
“People remember the way you go out, not everything you did along the way,” the source said. “And if he goes out this way or as a backup quarterback somewhere else, that’s not how he wanted to be. He wanted to go out on top. And he is saying that going out on top is an option he will no longer have.”
The New York Jets might have been the last stop
Rodgers is reportedly closer to choosing retirement than he is to returning to another team in 2025.
Never one to be caught unprepared, Rodgers already is looking to make a big step into the entertainment sphere, the source said. That suggests Rodgers might be leaning toward retirement rather than pursuing a 21st NFL season, if options to be on camera are presented.
Several NFL teams need a QB1, and the 2025 draft class has maybe one or two Day 1 starters. Still, Rodgers’ ego won’t let him go to a franchise that will pull him midseason to start a rookie.
Rodgers could announce his retirement soon, or wait until after the draft to join a team that still needs a quarterback. That would mean Rodgers would skip the free agency market in March, limiting the veteran quarterback’s choices to join a playoff contender.
Frankly, Rodgers’ best bet to go out a hero is to skip the market until injuries hit a playoff contender in the 2025 regular season.
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