A January report indicated that quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed the previous month that he “probably” would retire following the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ 2025 season, which ended when Pittsburgh suffered a 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
While Rodgers ultimately re-signed with the Steelers this past spring, he eventually confirmed he plans to ride off into the sunset of retirement at some point after he plays his final game of the upcoming campaign. During a recent conversation with NFL reporter Jarrett Bell of USA Today, Rodgers discussed why he decided to run it back with the Steelers for a “Last Dance” season.
Aaron Rodgers had one big reason to return to the Steelers this year
“Rodgers, 42, reflected on myriad topics as he gears up for a 22nd and final NFL season,” Bell wrote. “He mentioned that the chance to reunite with coach Mike McCarthy was the reason he returned after contemplating retirement and was nostalgic about their experience of winning Super Bowl XLV together with the Green Bay Packers.”
Shortly after the Steelers’ blowout loss to the Texans, Mike Tomlin stepped down as Pittsburgh’s head coach. Tomlin held that job for 19 seasons, while McCarthy grew up a Steelers fan in the Greenfield area of Pittsburgh. Of course, McCarthy was also Rodgers’ head coach when the two were with the Packers from 2006 through much of the 2018 season.
Aaron Rodgers chasing one last Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl XLV victory remains Rodgers’ only win to take place on the final Sunday of a postseason tournament. The future Hall of Famer seems confident he and McCarthy can return to the mountaintop with the 2026 Steelers.
“Using the term ‘chasing the ring’ is usually applying to, like, old guys, like LeBron (James) going to Philly and me still hanging around,” Rodgers added during his chat with Bell. “But if you’re not doing that, what are you doing? I mean, I was chasing the ring when I was in the first year starting, but our team wasn’t the team in ’08 that was probably championship-caliber. I think you know expectations are high here, which they always were in Green Bay. I think we’ve got the team that can do it.”
Noteworthy members of the football community don’t share Rodgers’ optimism. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Steelers as +5000 betting underdogs to win Super Bowl LXI this coming February. To compare, the Los Angeles Rams topped the list as the overall betting favorites at +550 odds, followed by the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens at +1000 odds.
