There’s some conflicting reporting, but it seems likely the wait on Aaron Rodgers is finally nearing an end. Rodgers is expected to be in Pittsburgh this weekend to meet with the Steelers and potentially sign a contract for the 2026 season. One that would likely pay him more than his 2025 deal did, according to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
“They did not think the contract itself was going to be a significant obstacle. Rodgers, last year, he really played on a tremendous discount around $13 million. And so now, he’s set to make on this tender around $15 million. It should be more than that,” DeFabo said Thursday on FS1’s The Herd. “Sometimes it’s not about the dollars themselves. Often, the amount you get is commensurate with the amount of respect the team is giving you. And in that way, I think he at least would like to get closer to market value.”
Although it seems more likely than not, Rodgers visiting this weekend doesn’t necessarily guarantee he’ll be signing a new deal. Last offseason, he made an undercover visit to Pittsburgh to simply discuss things with Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith, leaving the building without a deal. But he also mentioned his displeasure with the New York Jets making him fly across the country last offseason simply to tell him they wouldn’t be bringing him back. If he’s going all the way to Pittsburgh, it’s likely because he wants to play in 2026.
If he does, Rodgers will surely earn more than the measly $13 million contract he played on last year. As DeFabo noted, the tender the Steelers placed on him alone would pay him around $15 million. But it’s not binding, and the Steelers can rip that up and sign him to a larger deal if they want.
One that DeFabo thinks may be on the way. And it would be deserved. The $13 million he made last year would be less than Fernando Mendoza, who’s never played an NFL snap, will make this year. That $13 million would also be the 19th-highest salary in terms of annual average value of NFL quarterbacks. Rodgers is far from a perfect quarterback, but he did play well enough last year to want a raise. Especially on what would be only a one-year deal.
It’s not as if he’ll break the bank, though. Rodgers has made hundreds of millions of dollars in his career. Heading into what he thought might be his final season in 2025, he valued the Pittsburgh experience over money. While he’ll get a bump in pay this year, he probably won’t demand absurd amounts of cash.
But compared to market value, it could be much more than the contract Rodgers got in 2025. Malik Willis is making $22 million a year, and just above him are Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold at $33 million. Rodgers might not reach the same value as the latter two. But he’d have an argument to at least earn more than Willis. Either way, DeFabo is expecting Rodgers to get a raise in the near future.
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