1 Thing That Aaron Rodgers Definitely Won’t Do in Retirement
While it’s easy to think of athletes as larger than life figures, every one of them is human. That means every bump, bruise, and strain adds up over time; we might feel attached to our favorite players, but everyone will retire eventually. That includes Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Based on his on-field success, forays into acting, and investments, Rodgers will probably have his choice of post-playing careers. There’s one thing, however, that the quarterback definitely doesn’t want to do in retirement.
Aaron Rodgers impressive football career
While Aaron Rodgers isn’t exactly on the brink of retirement, no quarterback will be around forever. Whenever he does hang it up, though, Rodgers will have had quite a career to look back on.
Despite Rodgers’ current status, his career didn’t take off immediately. Despite posting big numbers in high school, most Division 1 programs considered him too small for their starting quarterback job. After declining a walk-on spot at the University of Illinois, Rodgers almost gave up on football. He decided to attend Butte Community College, though, hoping to keep his career alive.
After posting a strong freshman season, Rodgers started receiving some attention from the University of California. The quarterback would transfer and, after a brief spell on the bench, stepped into the Golden Bears’ starting role. While Rodgers played well as a sophomore, he truly burst onto the scene the next season. After leading Cal to 10-1 record, he declared for the NFL draft; there, he famously sat in the green room until the Green Bay Packers called his name.
Rodgers spent three seasons sitting behind Brett Farve, but was ready when the veteran gunslinger left town. While it’s never easy moving on from a franchise legend, the Packers never looked back. Rodgers has thrown for 46,204 yards and 361 touchdowns in his NFL career; he’s won a Super Bowl, been named Super Bowl MVP, and taken home two regular-season MVP awards.
When will Aaron Rodgers retire?
It’s hard to predict the course of an NFL career; Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski, for example, retired in their prime due to injury issues. If all things remain constant, though, Aaron Rodgers has a plan for when he’ll ride off into the sunset.
During an interview with Rich Eisen before the start of the regular season, Rodgers revealed his ideal plan for retirement. “Win the Super Bowl when I’m 45, the quarterback said, “and ride off into the sunset.” That would mean Rodgers’ final NFL game would be Super Bowl LXIII in February 2029; that’s assuming, though, that he can remain healthy for the next nine seasons.
“We’ll see,” Rodgers said when asked if he believed he could play for another decade. “I envision playing as long as my body feels good and I have the love for the game that I do right now. That still fuels me and is still a passion, and I still love the daily grind and the practice and the preparation. If I can give everything to a team in that manner and my body feels good, I’m going to keep rolling.”
Don’t count on a broadcast career like Tony Romo’s
While no one knows percisely when Aaron Rodgers will call it a career, the quarterback is sure of one thing: he won’t be following in Tony Romo’s footsteps and heading to the broadcast booth.
“The key I believe is to find things that can fill that competitive void, and to make sure that you are intentional about spending time with your former teammates,” the quarterback said in a recent Reddit AMA. “That’s what I hear from the guys that have retired, they miss the camaraderie, and I’m sure that I will too.”
“I don’t see myself doing any broadcasting,” he explained. “I love the sport, but when I’m done, I’ll be done. Maybe help out some local high school QBs, that would be fun.”
Both TV producers and young quarterbacks will have to wait for Aaron Rodgers’ final decision, though. 2029 is quite a ways away.
