Aaron Rodgers was reportedly in Pittsburgh over the weekend, but it doesn’t seem like he actually met with the Steelers. His agent has reportedly been talking with the team, though, and as Monday has now come without a deal between the two sides, it seems the financials are still being ironed out.
Whatever the Steelers have to pay Rodgers, it will likely be more than the $13 million he made in 2025. But even if the Steelers have to double that total, Steelers insider Gerry Dulac thinks they’d be getting a bargain.
“I know they won a division title, and I know they made it to the postseason. So, does that jack up his market value? Well of course. But then, his resume jacks up his market value, and yet, he played for what he did last year. And I expected a modest increase,” Dulac said Monday on 102.5 WDVE. “Even if they doubled what they paid him last year, it’s still a bargain for a starting quarterback in the NFL. I don’t think this is about some big, $60, $70 million deal for one year.”
At this point in his career, Rodgers won’t be looking to break the bank. But Dulac makes an interesting point. While he signed a modest deal in 2025, the expectations for Rodgers were a little different. He was coming off a poor tenure with the New York Jets. And despite some solid performances in meaningless games to end the 2024 season, many had written the veteran off.
He certainly wasn’t elite in 2025, but he did prove a lot of people wrong. Rodgers was able to operate the Steelers’ offense at a high level at times. He did win 10 games and the AFC North. It does feel like there would be higher expectations for Rodgers in 2026 than there was at this point last year. So a raise is deserved, to some extent.
Dulac doesn’t specify an exact number, but Rodgers’ $13.6 million from 2025 doubled would come out to $27.2 million this year. That is in line with what some analysts have predicted and falls much shorter than the annual average value of most quarterbacks in the league. That number would leave him 17th in the NFL in that metric. He’d be just behind Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, each of whom makes over $33 million.
That wouldn’t be very risky on a one-year deal. And it wouldn’t put too much of a burden on Pittsburgh as it relates to the salary cap. Whether the Steelers bringing Rodgers back is the right decision or not is in the eye of the beholder. But even if they double his salary from last season, Dulac doesn’t think it’s a bad maneuver from the front office.
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