Chris Broussard Thinks Aaron Rodgers Is ‘Making It About Himself’ With Retirement Discuss

On Tuesday, Aaron Rodgers joined the Pat McAfee show and talked about potential retirement after the 2025 season. Given the fact that he’ll turn 42 years old in December, that doesn’t come as a major surprise. However, by discussing that now, Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard thinks Rodgers is taking it as an opportunity to put his retirement in the spotlight.

“The reason that I think, and I’ve said this several times, this is going to be Mike Tomlin’s first losing season of his career, is for this reason right here,” Broussard said on First Things First on Tuesday.  “Aaron Rodgers making it about himself… I think this makes it about Rodgers. The story of next season for the Steelers is all going to be about, this is it, this is Aaron Rodgers’ last season. That is going to override everything… I thought their best chance this year is if Rodgers just goes in there, plays quarterback, lets Tomlin do his thing… And now, you’re gonna have this whole big, huge Aaron Rodgers story.”

For what it’s worth, Rodgers’ start in Pittsburgh doesn’t seem like it could be going any better. He seems happy to be a Steeler and has made his efforts to help some of the younger players on the roster abundantly clear. Really, it’s been without many of the distractions some were worried about, although it is only June.

However, that depends on whether you view Aaron Rodgers and his eventual retirement as a distraction.

For one thing, it certainly is something he deserves. He has spent two decades in the NFL and has played at a high level for nearly all of that time. He’ll go down as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the better quarterbacks the game has ever seen. Any player in that scenario could make the argument to be deserving of a retirement tour.

Broussard views it as a distraction, but will it be one in Pittsburgh? There are reasons to suggest not. For one, the Steelers seem to understand that Aaron Rodgers is contemplating retirement. They’re targeting next year’s NFL Draft as a chance to select their quarterback anyway. And Rodgers is only on a one-year deal.

Really, the Steelers are looking at this year with Rodgers as an attempt to take one more shot with the core they still have. On offense, Pittsburgh is mostly young. On defense, though, they’ve got some stars who are only getting older. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick might not have too many playoff runs left together. With Rodgers, the Steelers think they’re giving those players the best chance possible to make one more go at it.

At the end of the day, Pittsburgh knew there would be a lot that comes along with Rodgers. In the first half of the season alone, there are matchups against the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers, each of which packs a ton of storylines. Aaron Rodgers and his retirement are something most were expecting anyway. The Steelers might have problems in 2025, but this isn’t likely to be a major one.