Aaron Rodgers Says 2026 Will Be His Last Season. Is the Steelers Run a Farewell Tour?
Aaron Rodgers said the words on Wednesday. He is done after this season.
“This is it,” Rodgers told reporters at Steelers OTAs when asked whether 2026 would be his final NFL run. The four-time MVP just signed a one-year contract worth up to $25 million with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He turns 43 in December. He has nothing left to prove except whether he can win one more ring.
The contract structure tells you the Steelers know what this is. Rodgers gets a fully guaranteed $22 million base salary, a $250,000 roster bonus for being on the 90-man on August 7, another $250,000 roster bonus for being on the active roster for the season opener, and $2.5 million in playoff incentives that only kick in if he plays at least 75 percent of the regular-season snaps.
Translation: if he stays healthy, he gets paid. If the Steelers make a deep playoff run, he gets more. If he tries to coast, the incentives go unclaimed.
The McCarthy Reunion Matters More Than You Think
Pittsburgh paired Rodgers with head coach Mike McCarthy. The two spent 13 seasons together in Green Bay. They won a Super Bowl together. They also spent years on the public record bickering about Rodgers’ future, with McCarthy famously saying after his Packers firing that he “never had a problem” with Rodgers and Rodgers spending the next several seasons describing his old coach in terms that ranged from “not great” to “actively bad.”
That all gets buried now. McCarthy needs Rodgers. Rodgers needs McCarthy. The Steelers need both of them to play nice and run the offense without the soap opera that defined Rodgers’ last two stops.
The early returns are good. McCarthy has been spotted at OTAs running plays Rodgers ran in Green Bay. The veterans on the roster have publicly praised the new offensive structure. DK Metcalf, who came to Pittsburgh from Seattle two years ago, has reportedly looked like a different player in the new system.
The Steelers Are Built to Win Right Now
Pittsburgh has the AFC’s best defense on paper. T.J. Watt is still in his prime. Joey Porter Jr. has emerged as a top-tier cornerback. Cameron Heyward at age 37 is still grading out as a top-five interior defender. Mike Tomlin has not had a losing season as head coach, and he has not had a quarterback with a Hall of Fame resume since Ben Roethlisberger.
The offense around Rodgers is the question. Najee Harris left for Buffalo last year. The Steelers used a first-round pick on Texas tight end Gunnar Helm. Metcalf is the only proven receiver, and the second wideout job is open between Calvin Austin III and a sixth-round rookie out of South Carolina.
If Rodgers plays at the level he showed in flashes with the Jets last season, the Steelers are a Super Bowl contender. If his arm is finally done, they are a 9-8 team that gets bounced in the wild card round.
The Farewell Tour Storyline
Every Rodgers game is going to be a referendum on his legacy from now until February. ESPN is going to lean into it. Pat McAfee is going to talk about nothing else on Tuesdays. The Pittsburgh fan base, which spent two decades watching Roethlisberger fight off retirement, knows exactly how to do farewell tours.
And Rodgers seems comfortable with all of it. He told reporters he is treating every practice as a gift. He praised McCarthy specifically. He said he expects to throw the football well and let the rest take care of itself.
This is the version of Rodgers that fans always wanted. The Hall of Fame quarterback playing one last season for a team that fits his style, with a coach who understands him, in a city that respects football for its own sake.
Whether it ends with a parade or a wild card loss in January, Rodgers will walk away in February. He just told everyone what to expect.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
