Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows he may be about to play his last game on Sunday, January 4.
Ahead of the Steelers’ do-or-die regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens — one that Pittsburgh needs to win to make the playoffs — Rodgers, 42, reflected on his impending free agency and potential retirement decision.
“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously I’m 42 years old and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said, according to an article published by ESPN on Wednesday, December 31. “So you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there’ll be options, I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.”
Rodgers continued, “I’ve enjoyed this experience, and everybody in Pittsburgh has been fantastic to me on and off the field. And it’s really what I was hoping for this experience was, it’s been even better than I was hoping.”
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Wants To Retire With The Green Bay Packers
The future Hall of Famer is in his 21st season in the NFL and his first with the Steelers. The four-time MVP and former Super Bowl champion may be undecided about his future, but he said prior to the season that he thought 2025 would be his last.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is it,” Rodgers said in a June appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show. “That’s why we just did a one-year deal. Steelers didn’t need to put any extra years on that or anything, so this was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace for the career that I’ve had.
“I played 20 fricking years. It’s been a long run,” he added. “I’ve enjoyed it, and no better place to finish than in one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL with [Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin and a great group of leadership and great guys in the city that expects you to win.”
At the time, Rodgers also said he would confer with his wife, Brittani, before deciding on his future. He and Brittani tied the knot in early 2025, but Rodgers has said she prefers to stay out of the limelight.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Shades Aaron Rodgers With Blunt Take on His Game
“My private life is my private life. It’s gonna stay that way,” he explained. “I’m with somebody who wants to be private. If and when she wants to be out and there’s a picture, she’ll choose that. She deserves a right to that.”
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and career Steeler Cameron Heyward, who is in his 16th season with the team, welcomed the chance for Rodgers to help reverse their fortune.
“When someone comes onto your team, you just want to welcome them with welcome arms,” Heyward, 36, told Us Weekly exclusively in December. “I think that’s all we’ve tried to do.”
He added, “I’ve always tried to respect every teammate and I’ve always made sure that I’m there for all my teammates. Throughout this year, we’re all in different parts of our life, but we all just want to be there for each other.”
