Pat McAfee: Packers' Aaron Rodgers could walk from money, retire
Pat McAfee has suggested Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could walk away from millions upon millions of dollars and not play another down in the NFL.
"I think he’s a human that could retire," McAfee said during Tuesday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show" about Rodgers, per Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing. "And this is not off any information, but it’s the real deal. He’s a guy that could stare down $58 million and retire because he would view it as, like, 'My happiness is not about money.' That’s like legitimately how he goes. So I think in that aspect if he felt like he was happier without all the stresses of football, I think he would be a person that could turn that down and be completely cool with it and just move along. That’s just from hanging out with him one time in Lake Tahoe and realizing he’s a mother------ hippie."
(Warning: Video contains not-safe-for-work language)
Rodgers is a weekly "The Pat McAfee Show" guest during seasons and presumably has the former punter among his "inner circle" of media personalities and NFL insiders. McAfee did repeat previous information and said on Tuesday that he has "no idea" what Rodgers will decide to do.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio pointed out back on Jan. 9 that Rodgers is owed nearly $60 million in fully guaranteed money for 2023 based on the extension he signed with the Packers last March. While Rodgers told McAfee on Jan. 24 the contract likely will need to be re-worked if the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player wishes to play for any team later this year, Rodgers indicated shortly after Green Bay's season ended on Jan. 8 that he already has all the money he needs for the rest of his life and beyond.
"Money is energy, and I have made a ton of it and I’m very thankful for this organization, the generational wealth that they’ve offered me," Rodgers said during his final post-game news conference of the campaign, as shared by Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. "Hopefully (they) feel like that I’ve earned a lot of it. But, yeah, for sure, I can definitely walk away from that."
For what it's worth, it was reported Tuesday that Rodgers has "a wish list of free agents" he'd like the New York Jets to pursue before he agrees to join that organization via a trade. If the Jets fail to convince Rodgers they're all-in on making him happy this offseason, he may announce to somebody within his "inner circle" as soon as when the new league year begins on Wednesday that he's ready to ride off into the sunset of retirement.
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