One more time around the track for Aaron Rodgers.
The 42-year-old four-time NFL MVP says the 2026 season will be his last. Rodgers will spend it in Pittsburgh reuniting with first-year Steelers coach Mike McCarthy. The two won a Super Bowl together during a highly successful run in Green Bay earlier in their careers.
While McCarthy's time in Pittsburgh is just starting, Rodgers is entering the twilight of a career that will end in the Hall of Fame.
Here's a look at how Rodgers evolved from a junior college unknown into a future Hall of Famer.
After developing into an NFL prospect during one year at Butte College and two at Cal, Rodgers was a possibility to go No. 1 overall in the 2005 draft. But he had a longer-than-expected wait before Green Bay selected him 24th overall.
After sitting behind Brett Favre for three seasons, Rodgers got his opportunity to be the Packers’ starter in 2008 after Favre – who retired briefly and then returned — was traded to the Jets. Rodgers quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s top passers, throwing for 4,038 yards. It was the first of 10 seasons during which he’d pass for at least 4,000 yards.
Rodgers led the Packers to the Super Bowl to cap the 2010 season and was selected the game’s MVP after throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay's 31–25 win over Pittsburgh.
Rodgers won the first of his four AP NFL MVP awards in 2011 after passing for a career-high and franchise-best 4,643 yards with 45 TDs and just six interceptions while setting an NFL record with a 122.5 passer rating.
In 2014, Rodgers and the Packers bounced back from a sluggish 1-2 start to reach the NFC championship game, where Green Bay lost to Seattle. He capped the season by winning his second MVP award.
Arguably Rodgers’ most memorable pass came in Detroit in Week 13 of the 2015 season against the Lions, who led the Packers 23-20 and appeared to win until a defensive facemask penalty was called with no time left on the clock. It gave Green Bay one more chance and Rodgers chucked a 61-yard toss that was caught by Richard Rodgers in the end zone for an unlikely victory. It was the first of Rodgers’ four career completed Hail Mary throws, the most in NFL history.
Rodgers threw a career-high and Packers-record 48 TD passes and set a personal best with a 70.7 completion percentage on his way to his third AP NFL MVP award. The Packers made it to the NFC title game again, but lost to Tom Brady and eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay. Rodgers fell to 1-4 in conference championship games and became the first QB to lose four straight appearances.
Rodgers missed a game in 2021 after testing positive for COVID-19 and later acknowledged he hadn’t gotten the vaccine. He said he was “immunized” when asked about his vaccination status before the season. Although he took responsibility for being misleading about his status initially, Rodgers also criticized the way NFL protocols impacted unvaccinated players and frequently spoke out regarding his skepticism over the vaccine.
Rodgers capped the 2021 season by winning his fourth AP NFL MVP award, becoming the fifth player to win consecutive MVPs and first since Peyton Manning (2008 and 2009). He and Manning are also the only players to win at least four MVP awards.
Rodgers signed a three-year contract before the 2022 season with the Packers worth $150.8 million, with $101.5 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid player in North American sports history on an annual basis at that time. He broke his right thumb early in the season, but continued playing and the Packers finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Rodgers was traded to New York on April 26, 2023, immediately raising expectations for the Jets, whose only Super Bowl appearance was in the 1968 season. But just four snaps into his debut in the season opener against Buffalo, Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon.
Rodgers started off slowly in his return from his torn Achilles tendon and then dealt with other knee, ankle and hamstring injuries as the Jets got off to a 2-3 start and fired coach Robert Saleh. Rodgers played better down the stretch, but New York finished 5-12 and missed the playoffs for the 14th straight year. After becoming the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 regular-season TD passes in the season finale, Rodgers said he needed to take some time off to ponder his playing future.
On Feb. 13, 2025, the Jets said they had informed Rodgers that new coach Aaron Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey would be moving in another direction at quarterback. He was released a month later, officially ending Rodgers’ tenure with the franchise.
Rodgers signed with the Steelers in June 2025 and quickly began leaning into everything that comes with playing for one of the league's iconic franchises. He took rookie quarterback Will Howard under his wing and quickly won over the locker room with his humor and his cool California swagger.
Oh, and the football at times was great, too. Rodgers passed for 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 2025, leading the Steelers to their first AFC North title since 2020. He also leapfrogged Favre into fourth place on the NFL's all-time touchdown pass list.
He spent four months pondering whether to return before re-signing with Pittsburgh just before the start of organized team activities and left no room for speculation about whether 2026 would be his last season.
“This is it,” he said.
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AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
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