Insiders Reveal Details of Steelers-Rodgers Contract
Here’s a quick recap of the Steelers-Aaron Rodgers saga. The New York Jets released quarterback Rodgers on March 12th of this year. Rodgers visited the Steelers and met with head coach Mike Tomlin on March 21st. Since his visit, there has been ongoing speculation about whether or not he would join the team. On June 5th, Rodgers finally signed with the Steelers. Rodgers inked a one-year agreement with them. Neither Rodgers nor the team has publicly disclosed the specifics of their contract. However, insiders are sharing the details.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the deal is for under $20 million. Dulac stated, “Money was NEVER the issue in the deal with Aaron Rodgers. It was always a one-year offer for less than $20 million.” Ian Rapoport, an analyst for the NFL Network, revealed that Rodgers will be required to reach incentives built into the contract to get near the $20 million mark. Rapoport remarked, “Aaron Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show he’d play for $10 million, and that’s where the base salary is expected to be with some incentives to get a little higher.” Rodgers was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show on April 17th. He said, “I told every single one of the teams that I talked to that it ain’t about the money that I would play for $10M.”
Rodgers’ last contract extension with the Green Bay Packers was a three-year, $150.8 million deal. His contract with the Jets was a three-year, $112.5 million deal. Spotrac reports that Rodgers has made a total of $380.66 million throughout his NFL career. He’ll be 42 this December. Many analysts and fans predict that this will be his final season before retirement. Several NFL teams have inked expensive contracts for quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins, Kyler Murray, and Dak Prescott. The Steelers have managed to sign veteran quarterbacks rather inexpensively during the past two offseasons. The team was able to make a league-minimum agreement with Russell Wilson last year, due to the Denver Broncos owing him over $38 million. Since Rodgers is not concerned about money, the Steelers are adding a veteran quarterback for significantly less than his market value.
