Contract Expectation For Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Revealed

The Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck in a very odd cycle with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He is pretty much the final piece of the puzzle for the 2026 campaign; however, he remains unsigned for reasons not really known to the general public. The four-time MVP has often criticized offseason workouts, particularly voluntary ones. The team's Organized Team Activities (OTAs) begin on Monday, so fans are frustrated once again with the future Hall of Famer as he takes his time. In 2025, he waited until June to ink a deal, and it could be trending the exact same way in the present.

There has been a ton of speculation about what the true hold-up is. The possibilities seem to be endless, but the leading theories are that he is considering retirement or wants more money than he got in his first season with the Steelers. Both can be true as well. Rodgers might not see it as worth it to dedicate another year of his life to football, and the contract will have to really sell him on doing that.

Despite this, there doesn't seem to be much panic coming from the organization; although, there have been some reports that suggest that Pittsburgh isn't going to sit back and wait forever for the quarterback to sign a deal. The franchise could easily make a contract work when it comes to the salary cap, but time seems to be ticking in the Steel City.

Recently, Tom Pelissero joined the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN to dive into the Rodgers and Steelers saga. Starting signal-callers are getting paid upwards of $40 million across the NFL's landscape, but the insider shut down the notion that the deal with the future Hall of Famer and Pittsburgh will come anywhere close to that number.

"There is nothing that I have been told that makes me believe that the contract is going to be an issue with Aaron Rodgers," Pelissero said. "It's going to be a one-year deal. It's going to have to have a 2 in front of it, I believe. It's a pretty straightforward type of thing because this is not about money for a player who [has] made close to $400 million in his career."

That report can calm some nerves from the fan base if there were some out there that believed Rodgers would ask for a very hefty, and potentially unaffordable, contract. It's possible that if there are some hold-ups in potential negotiations, it is because of escalators and incentives that the veteran is hoping to have included for 2026.

The other three quarterbacks in the Steelers' building probably would not help lead the team back to the playoffs. That is purely speculation, but two are extremely young without any experience, and Mason Rudolph has proven that he probably isn't someone who would help a team to win a division if given the opportunity to start 17 games throughout any given year.

When all is said and done, it is very likely that Rodgers will be under center for the Steelers in 2026. However, Pittsburgh has OTAs followed by mandatory minicamp, and then a second sessions of OTAs. This is not how it has been done in the past. If the signal-caller is very against anything voluntary, he could absolutely hold out all the way until late June before putting pen to paper.

Steelers Likely Will Not Put An Actual Deadline On Rodgers' Decision

Pittsburgh's best chance of winning football games in 2026 is if Rodgers is running the offense. The team has been adamant about not wanting to tank in any way, so while there may be some frustration internally, the organization is not going to turn its back on the quarterback. If he wants to play for the Steelers in 2026, it is going to happen one way or another. Additionally, that deal is likely to be worth something in the $20 million range, as Pelissero reported.