"It can isolate you a bit": When Aaron Rodgers admitted private life was not helping his career

When NFL legend Aaron Rodgers started playing football, he just wanted to be the best. Unlike many other football stars, Rodgers is barely active on social media and didn’t join Instagram until 2017, but he used it sparingly. Although he doesn’t shy away from speaking his heart, Rodgers prefers keeping his personal life away from football and the media.

However, over the years, Rodgers has accumulated the stature of a celebrity, and he has come to terms with it. When Rodgers was interviewed by Michele Tafoya in August 2018, he discussed the rationale behind a major decision in his life. Rodgers said:

“That’s part of it. The other part is that I have been so private for so long. I believe that you should be able to have some private life that’s not out there all the time. I have been private for so long, and when you are that private, it can isolate you a bit.”

Rodgers, who started as a backup to NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre, exceeded expectations with his performance from 2008 to 2014. During that phase, he won two NFL MVP awards and a Super Bowl ring in 2011. However, he faced a dip in his performance from 2015 to 2018 comparatively.

Despite this, Rodgers secured a record-breaking $134 million offer from the Green Bay Packers. Hence, Rodgers assumed opening up a bit might help him as he learned to negate the criticism and focus on his work instead.

“When you just let go and don’t worry about it as much, you’re actually practicing that indifference all the time. Then any type of response, positive or negative, to one of my posts or one of Danica [Patrick]’s posts that I’m in doesn’t bother me.”

The NFL veteran enjoyed another brief period of success post-2018 when he accumulated two more NFL MVP awards. However, Aaron Rodgers faced another slump in his career when he left the Packers and joined the Jets in 2023.

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Pittsburgh Steelers await Aaron Rodgers' decision

After missing action in 2023 due to injury, Aaron Rodgers couldn’t live up to expectations and was subsequently released by the Jets in 2025. Reports suggest that Rodgers was in talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it has not been confirmed yet. NFL Insider Gerry Dulac said:

“Apparently, the delay in the Aaron Rodgers discussion with the Steelers is not about money. The offer has been made. It's about Rodgers taking his good ol' time about making a decision.”

Rodgers is one of the best options available for the QB role in free agency.