Aaron Rodgers is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it’s only for one year. If things go well, the Steelers might have thought about bringing Rodgers back for 2026, but he put that to bed earlier this week, claiming that he expects this to be his last season. However, it can be hard for players like Rodgers to transition into retirement. With that in mind, Jay Glazer believes Rodgers may want that now, but he’s not certain the 41-year-old will feel the same way this time next year.
“I don’t say definitely,” Glazer said on The Jim Rome Show Wednesday, in regards to Rodgers retiring after the 2025 season.
Glazer does say he believes Rodgers is telling the truth about his current mindset. However, he tells a story about another aging legend, Tony Gonzalez, who once felt the same way before changing his mind.
“I would take Aaron at his word,” Rome said. “… Tony Gonzalez, he knew he was retiring before his last year. When it comes to an athlete, especially a football player, I think they have a harder battle than most to retire. When you retire, losing that team, losing that locker room, losing that structure every day, that can be scary between the ears for a lot of guys… Football, it’s done. It’s over… I think if he’s saying it right now, yeah, okay.”
“He [Gonzalez] announces his retirement. About two years later, he calls me up, he says, ‘Hey man, you think the Falcons would have me back? I can’t retire four yards short of the Super Bowl,'” Glazer said.
Retirement is scary for any athlete. Committing yourself to a sport to the point of playing it at a professional level for multiple decades means it has taken over your life. Getting out of that routine, something you’ve been doing since you were a kid, is hard to do. Glazer presents a good point regarding football players as well. Football isn’t typically as accessible as other sports recreationally, so it can be more of a cut-off once players actually retire.
Look no further than two players Rodgers has some similarities to. Brett Favre, with whom Rodgers is on an eerily similar career path, retired and unretired twice. Tom Brady unretired before going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Interestingly, each individual had success after being unretired.
For Rodgers, there’s a chance things could end a similar way. Glazer brings up Gonzalez, who he says knew he was going to retire heading into his last season, as Rodgers seems to feel now about his own retirement. However, Gonzalez finished just short of reaching the Super Bowl. He couldn’t end his career on that note and decided to come back.
There’s a chance Rodgers and the Steelers could have a similar fate this year. Currently, the benchmark for success feels like a playoff win. Granted, that would be a solid way for Rodgers to end his career, considering everything. However, if they make a deep playoff run, maybe Rodgers would consider trying to make one more year work. After all, if the Steelers do make it deep into the playoffs, it would mean he’s playing at a high level.
At the end of the day, this is all speculation. Only Rodgers knows how he truly feels about retirement. And from what he’s told us, this looks like his last season. However, veterans, especially future Hall of Famers like Rodgers, want to end their careers on the best note possible. Based on what he’s seen from players around the league, Glazer won’t close the door just yet.
