NFL Star Aaron Rodgers Leaving Green Bay Packers for New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers is jetting off to a new team.
The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback has been traded to the New York Jets, a source with knowledge of the terms confirmed to The New York Times on April 24. The move concludes Rodgers' 18-year history with the Packers, which began in 2005 when he was drafted by the NFL team.
Rodgers first shared his intention to leave during a March 15 interview on The Pat McAfee Show. "I haven't been holding anything up at this point," he said on the show. "It's been compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me and kind of digging their heels in."
Amid the waiting period, Rodgers noted that he was taking a step back and sending love and gratitude to Green Bay.
During his time as Packers quarterback, Rodgers led the team to a Super Bowl win in 2011 with a compelling victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As rumors around his potential departure to the Jets swirled in March, Rodgers addressed the talk but kept tight on details.
"Stay tuned … I think it won't be long," he said in a March 12 appearance on the I AM ATHLETE podcast. "There's a time limit for all this."
He also shared a bit of insight into his meeting with Jets owner Woody Johnson, which occurred on March 7, according to the New York Post.
"It's always interesting meeting important figures in the sport. Yeah it's always interesting," he added. "That's all I'm giving you."
The 39-year-old also broached the subject after finishing a darkness retreat in February, where he isolated himself from the outside world, per ESPN.
"There's a finality to the decision. I don't make it lightly," he said on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast March 1. "I don't want to drag anybody around. Look, I'm answering questions about it because I got asked about it. I'm talking about it because it's important to me. If you don't like it and you think it's drama, you think I'm being a diva or whatever, then just tune it out."
He continued, "That's fine. But this is my life. It's important to me, and I'll make a decision soon enough and we'll go down that road and be really excited about it."
Previously, Rodgers signed a four-year contract with the Packers in March 2022. Although reports emerged that it was a $200 million contract, Rodgers later set the record straight on Twitter.
"YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I 'signed'," he wrote. "I'm very excited to be back."
Outside of football, the NFL star dated Shailene Woodley, but the pair separated and ended their engagement in February 2022. He is reportedly now in a relationship with Mallory Edens, per People.
His trade was first reported by ESPN.
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