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Aaron Rodgers Not Expected To Wear Top Jersey Number On Steelers

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 5:28 PM ET

Now that he's put pen to paper, Aaron Rodgers is officially the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback for 2025. But what number will he be wearing this year?

As a member of the Green Bay Packers, he proudly wore the No. 12 for the better part of two decades. But when he joined the New York Jets in a trade, he did not wear the No. 12 since the number had been retired for decades by team legend Joe Namath.

Officially, the only three numbers the Steelers have ever retired are 32 (Franco Harris), 70 (Ernie Stautner) and 75 ("Mean" Joe Greene). But there are 11 other numbers that the team has not reissued since the last player to wear them retired. One of them is the No. 12, worn by Terry Bradshaw as he led the team to four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s.

According to ProFootballTalk, the Steelers will announce Rodgers' jersey number soon. They speculated that he will wear the No. 8 like he did in New York.

"The Steelers will be announcing Aaron Rodgers's number soon. (Our guess is he'll be wearing No. 8 again.)," PFT wrote.

The Steelers will be announcing Aaron Rodgers's number soon. (Our guess is he'll be wearing No. 8 again.)
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 7, 2025

There have been renewed discussions over which teams would unretire certain numbers belonging to famous players.

After drafting Cam Ward No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans decided to unretire the jersey of Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon to give him the number he wore in college.

On the other hand, New York Giants defensive end Abdul Carter tried to ask Hall of Fame pass rusher Lawrence Taylor to wear his No. 56 jersey but was rebuffed. He then tried to ask Phil Simms to wear the No. 11 but was similarly turned down.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 20: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets walks off the field after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)Justin Berl/Getty Images

There's not much reason to assume that Terry Bradshaw will go the Warren Moon route and not the Lawrence Taylor route. Bradshaw has made it pretty clear through the years that he doesn't think particularly highly of Rodgers and seemed to be against his former team signing the four-time MVP in the first place.

Rodgers may have to make due with some other number while he's wearing the black & gold.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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