If Aaron Rodgers retires (to host Jeopardy or just retire), he would have to repay the team $11.5M this year and $11.5M if he remains retired next year — all from his signing bonus. Unless the situation is repaired to his liking, this is a serious consideration, I’m told. https://t.co/kEQwpexqX0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2021
Boy, that escalated quickly.
The burgeoning rift between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers has already reached the “threaten retirement” stage.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, retirement is under “serious consideration” for Rodgers unless the situation with the Packers is “repaired to his liking,” a vague but ominous phrase that could be interpreted a million different ways.
His frustration with the franchise boiling over, Rodgers reportedly wants out of Green Bay, and he’s now willing to threaten retirement to help get it done.
Rodgers, who turns 38 in December, would have to pay back a big chunk of money if he decided to retire. Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, nearly $30 million from Rodgers’ current contract would be subject to forfeiture if he retired from the NFL.
The report reeks of an attempt from Rodgers’ side to escalate the conflict and gain some control back over his future, either through a trade out of Green Bay or some kind of massive concession or financial commitment from the Packers.
Trading Rodgers before June 1st would actually cost the Packers money on the salary cap in 2021, although the move would completely clear him from the team’s cap in 2022.
As Fitzgerald wrote, the most likely moment of divorce between Rodgers and the Packers has always looked like 2022. Rodgers is coming off an MVP season and unwilling to be a placeholder, so he might be trying to accelerate his departure.
