Aaron Rodgers’ decision to not only play football in 2025 but also sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers took much longer than anticipated, but that decision is one that came from his soul, rather than his ego.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday for the first time since signing with the Steelers late last week, Rodgers revealed the reasoning behind why he signed up for another season in the NFL as a 41-year-old quarterback, stating that he still has a deep love for the game and could feel it in his soul that it would be a good fit with the Steelers.
“I don’t need it for my ego. I don’t need it to keep playing. A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling, but the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling,” Rodgers said, according to video via Steelers.com. “So this was a decision that was best for my soul, and I felt like being here with Coach T[omlin] and the guys that got here and the opportunity here was the best for me, and I’m excited to be here.”
As a very free-spirited quarterback, that isn’t much of a surprise that Rodgers would answer that way. But the Steelers sure are glad that the decision to play football and do so in the Black and Gold in 2025 came from the soul and wasn’t money or ego driven.
After a tough 2024 season with the New York Jets, which saw the Jets go just 5-12, Rodgers struggle physically for much of the season, the head coach and offensive coordinator get fired, and the GM ultimately get let go as well, it was understandable if Rodgers just wanted to ride off into the sunset and call it a career, starting the clock on his first-ballot Hall of Fame induction into Canton.
But that love for the game, and that determination to give back to the game and go out on his terms, drove him and resulted in him signing a one-year deal with the Steelers to play under a head coach in Mike Tomlin he respects and has great admiration for, along with an offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith that he’s known for years.
It helps having some of the weapons that the Steelers do, too, in wide receiver DK Metcalf, tight end Pat Freiermuth and rookie running back Kaleb Johnson, whom Rodgers has trained with previously.
Having racked up four NFL MVP awards, a Super Bowl trophy and numerous records and individual benchmarks from a statistical standpoint, Rodgers didn’t need to keep playing. Being in Pittsburgh with the opportunity to play for Tomlin and try to bounce back and have a strong year with the Steelers in their culture was very alluring.
Now, he has to fulfill some expectations after making that decision from the soul. A lot is riding on Rodgers in 2025 for the Steelers.
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