Aaron Rodgers is said to be seeking a massive contract from the Green Bay Packers, and one of his ex-teammates views that as quite hypocritical.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported this week that Rodgers is seeking to become the highest-paid player in the NFL by a significant margin. Former Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings spoke about that report during Friday’s edition of “First Thing’s First” on Fox Sports 1. He said Rodgers has been “very selfish” and is sending mixed messages by claiming he wants to win but demanding top dollar.
“You understand what this means and what this does to your personnel,” Jennings said. “You potentially have to get rid of some guys. … Now, all of a sudden it’s about the money. I hate to do this, but I go back to personal experiences. When you have a personal experience you try to move past and beyond because people change, but some things never do. Aaron Rodgers has been a very selfish guy, period.”
Jennings was asked to elaborate on that personal experience. After he signed his first contract extension with the Packers years ago, Jennings says Rodgers told him “don’t be that guy” who signs a deal with the team and then comes back asking for more money. He believes Rodgers is doing exactly that with Green Bay now.
“I get it. He’s at the end of his career so he’s like, ‘I’m gonna take whatever I can take.’ But you can’t do that and want to win,” Jennings said. “How are you gonna try to win? In looking out for yourself, you cut off the legs of others.”
You can hear more of Jennings’ comments below:
Jennings and Rodgers put up some big numbers together on the field, but they have not had a good relationship since. Jennings left the Packers in 2013 and signed with the division rival Minnesota Vikings. He was critical of Rodgers at the time for not being a team player and for not supporting him. Jennings also said some unflattering things about Rodgers years ago. He said recently that he has tried to apologize, but Rodgers has not been receptive.
Of course, we don’t even know if the report about Rodgers commanding top dollar is true. He explained this week how much the friendship of two of his teammates means to him, so it remains to be seen if he will be open to taking less money to help keep them around.
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