New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn't having the best year. The team is 3-8. They've fired both their head coach, Robert Saleh, and general manager, Joe Douglas, in recent weeks, and there have been rumors that Jets owner Woody Johnson wanted to bench the QB as far back as September 30. And if you take a look at comments from the sports media and fans on social media, you'll see that many are calling for the team to axe Rodgers altogether. Heck, I even hear it in my own household. My 70-year-old father lives with me, and more often than not, I wake up to comments like "Guess what Colin Cowherd said about Old Man Rodgers now?"
So where does Rodgers go from here? In the past, he's said he wants to play two, three, or even four more seasons in the NFL. For personal reasons, I'd love to see that happen. He's really the last great quarterback of my generation, and I'm not ready to let go of that yet. For his sake, I'd love to see him go out like Peyton Manning did, winning another Super Bowl. The sports media has other ideas though, but as we all know, Rodgers is his own man who doesn't listen to those guys.
Regardless of whether the quarterback retires after this season or plays until he's 50, the Daily Mail claims he's already got a plan for his post-NFL career: politics. Citing an anonymous "insider" source, the Mail says many networks are interested in hiring him to do commentary for the league when his playing days are over, but Rodgers, apparently, has other ideas. The insider said:
But his post-playing days intentions are political. If it made sense, he would run for President or at least consider being a running mate in the way that RFK Jr. wanted him to be this year. Once he is retired, he would have no problem attempting to try his hand for political office. It is a very big realm of possibility for something that Aaron would like to try his hand at. It just makes sense to him and is something that interests him. 2028 is far away, but Aaron will be retired by then, and to start a career in politics is right up his alley and something he will take seriously.
As the source mentions, there were rumors that Rodgers would be Robert Kennedy Jr.'s running mate when Kennedy was running for president earlier this year. On that subject, Rodgers claimed he turned down the offer. "I love Bobby. We had a couple really nice conversations. But there were really two options. It was retire and be his VP or keep playing. And I wanted to keep playing."
Personally, I'm not one to listen to "insider" sources, but if these really do end up being Rodgers's plans, it might be fun to watch. I know he gets a lot of crap from people for being outspoken and unconventional, but that's what I like about the guy. He's not some cookie cutter athlete saying all the right things all the time. He doesn't shy away from sharing his opinions and owning who he is. He seemingly doesn't put much stock into what others think about him. How refreshing is that?
As recently as Nov. 1, he appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" on ESPN and criticized the Biden-Harris administration's response to Hurricane Helene and the decision to send billions of dollars to Ukraine. "I don’t have a problem with Ukraine, at all, I just think there are a lot of problems in the United States that $180 billion could maybe help instead of fighting a proxy war." While talking about the NFL trade deadline and Election Day falling on the same day, he also mocked the celebrities coming out to endorse Kamala Harris. "If you don’t know what to do on trade deadline, just ask your favorite celebrity. My favorite is when the celebrity is bought and paid for by China," he said during the interview.
In July, he criticized the Democrat Party and the two-party system in the U.S. while appearing on the podcast "Pardon My Take": "Politics, I’ve said from the beginning, is an absolute sham. And if we’ve seen anything whether what they did to Bernie Sanders in 2016, that we saw in the Podesta emails or the fact that nothing really ever changes...all they talk about is what they’re gonna do, and then life doesn’t actually get better for any of us – whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat. And we’re still doing the same f***ing two-party system. Not letting Bobby get in or anybody else." As I've stated, I kind of agree with him there.
Full disclosure: If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm an Aaron Rodgers fan. While my NFL loyalty lies with the Falcons, the more I've learned about Rodgers as a person beyond the football field, the more I've come to respect and admire him.
As a matter of fact, when I took this job writing for PJ Media a few weeks ago, I asked my friend and editor Chris Queen, "Can I eventually write about sports? How long do you think it will take me to find a reason to write about Aaron Rodgers?" Well, I wrote my first article for the site on October 29, so I guess the answer is 23 days.
And while I'm being self-indulgent, I just remembered this tweet I posted in 2021. If Rodgers does run for office one day, can I at least say I called it first?
Aaron Rodgers for permanent @Jeopardy host. @AaronRodgers12 for president. Aaron Rodgers for everything. pic.twitter.com/V3wEMRSZ93
— Sarah (@SarahDownSouth) April 6, 2021
Well, we'll see if Rodgers, who is currently on a bye week, responds to the Daily Mail's "insider" assertions and confirms or denies that he'd like to enter the political realm. Whatever he ends up doing, I'll be here for it.
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