The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals faced off during the NFL Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football, and Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit had the television call for Prime Video. In the third quarter, Michaels and Herbstreit reflected on a conversation they had with Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Wednesday.
“We talked to Aaron Rodgers yesterday,” Michaels began. “And the question was, ‘Do you know what you’re going to do after football?'”
Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on a conversation they had with Aaron Rodgers about his post-NFL career.
Herbstreit: “He said you won’t hear from me or see me for at least four years.”
Michaels: “I wouldn’t bet on that, but who knows.”
(Also, Rodgers then threw a TD pass) pic.twitter.com/r4NvFiMB0W
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 17, 2025
“And [Rodgers] said, ‘I’m going to disappear,'” Michaels continued. “He said, ‘I’ve spent my whole life in the limelight… I’m looking for the shadows.’ Well, he’s already had a darkness retreat, so the shadows will at least provide more light than the darkness retreat did.”
“That quote was amazing,” Herbstreit responded. “‘I’ve lived in the spotlight long enough, time to go to the shadows.”
“We’ll see,” Michaels said.
“He said, ‘You won’t hear from me or see me for at least four years,'” Herbstreit explained.
“I wouldn’t bet on that, but who knows,” Michaels quipped.
Rodgers, who turns 42 on Dec. 2, has to retire first before we find out if he’ll really disappear for four years.
And when Rodgers will actually retire remains to be seen. He threw a touchdown pass on 3rd-and-18 seconds after the comments from Michaels and Herbstreit, and he threw for four touchdown passes (with two interceptions) overall in the game, while showing that his arm strength is still incredible.
this is a ridiculous throw from Rodgers pic.twitter.com/k4SLI76axP
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) October 17, 2025
However, Rodgers’ performance wasn’t enough to outduel 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco, who led the Bengals to a wild 33-31 win.