As the Aaron Rodgers saga continued to drag out with the Pittsburgh Steelers, leading to real questions about his 2026 plans, one aspect that consistently popped up in recent weeks was debate about the hold-up.
Many seemed to believe that it was a financial-based snag in the situation.
But according to the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, who appeared on 102.5 WDVE Monday morning, Rodgers and the Steelers — who reportedly agreed to a one-year, $22 million guaranteed deal for 2026 on Saturday – had a financial agreement in place for quite some time.
“The money was never an issue. It was never an issue with how long Aaron Rodgers was sitting out or what he was deciding,” Dulac said, according to audio via DVE. “They had agreed on the parameters of the money a long time ago. Certainly, well, when I say a long time ago, well over a month ago. And so that was never the hold-up here.”
While the Steelers placed the rarely used UFA tender on Rodgers in late April, locking him in at a minimum of just over $15 million in 2026, the issue was never about the money with Rodgers or the Steelers.
In the end, Rodgers got a nice raise from 2025, landing $22 million guaranteed with the ability to make up to $25 million in incentives in 2026. It’s a similar structure to what Rodgers had last season, though he earned just $500,000 in incentives for leading the Steelers to the postseason.
Dulac’s report about money not being the issue aligns with the reporting from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who stated multiple times this offseason that financial discussions weren’t the reason behind the delay in a decision from Rodgers.
In the end, the 42-year-old quarterback just took his time to figure out what he wanted to do. Though he didn’t clean out his locker or even list his home for sale in Pittsburgh, leading to many believing he’d return, he still went through his usual offseason process, landing him right where many believed he’d end up all along.
Now, it’s back to football for Rodgers, doing so while reuniting with Mike McCarthy and a number of new Steelers coaches with whom he has plenty of familiarity.
Recommended for you