Aaron Rodgers Announces Retirement From NFL After 2026 Season

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Aaron Rodgers is hanging up his uniform for good. 

After 20 years playing in the NFL, the football player has announced he will retire after the upcoming season as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Indeed, the 42-year-old confirmed while speaking with reporters May 20 that “yes, this is it.” 

This news follows Aaron’s recent signing of a one-year, $25 million contract with the Steelers. This season will also bring him back together with Mike McCarthy, his former coach of 13 years from the Green Bay Packers, who is now the head coach after Mike Tomlin left the position.

Aaron had hinted that he would retire after the 2025 season, specifically mentioning Pittsburgh as the likely end to his career.

Aaron explained on the Pat McAfee Show in June that he believes this season will be his last. He only signed a one-year contract with the Steelers, and he said the team didn’t ask for a longer commitment. He wants to end his career enjoying the game and feeling good about everything he’s accomplished.

He reflected on his 20-year career, saying it had been a great run and that he couldn’t have asked for a better place to end it than with one of the NFL’s most established teams.

After the Steelers didn’t win the championship in the 2025-2026 season, the quarterback – who had secretly married Brittani in June 2025 – began to think about whether he wanted to continue playing football.

Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. told ESPN that Aaron made some impressive throws right away during their first practice. ‘It really hit me then that I was playing with Aaron,’ Pittman said. ‘It’s awesome to have the chance to play with another quarterback who’s destined for the Hall of Fame.’

Kicker Chris Boswell also said the team was starting to play better with Aaron back in the game.

He said having him return now and be with the team, especially with one of his former coaches, is a really good thing.

For more insight into Aaron’s life and relationships off the field, read on. 

After the playoff game, he told reporters he wouldn’t make any rash decisions based on how he was feeling. He admitted he was disappointed, but emphasized how much fun the season had been despite the challenges they faced. He added that the past year had been great for him personally, and being part of this team was a highlight, making the end of the season particularly tough.

Aaron was very interested in working with his old coach again. He explained that everything just felt right about the opportunity, saying it was a perfect fit.

Meanwhile, Aaron’s Pittsburgh teammates are excited to have him back on the field. 

Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. told ESPN that even on the first day of practice with Aaron, he was impressed with Aaron’s throws. He said it was a special moment realizing he was playing with another future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Kicker Chris Boswell also said the team was starting to play better with Aaron back on the field.

He said having him return now and be with the team, especially with one of his former coaches, is definitely a good thing.

For more insight into Aaron’s life and relationships off the field, read on. 

I remember when Aaron Rodgers was just a high school kid, even back then I thought he had something special! I went to Pleasant Valley High School with him in Chico, California, and we actually dated. He wasn’t the superstar he is now, but he was always a funny, slightly awkward, but incredibly driven person. He was a natural leader, not with a lot of talking, but by doing and carrying himself with quiet confidence.

We both were really into sports – I played volleyball and often worked out with him, doing conditioning and lifting weights. He was always so focused and put in so much extra practice time. His dad, Ed, was a huge supporter of his dream to play professional football, and they had an incredibly close relationship. Every Friday night, Ed would be at all his games, meticulously taking stats.

But it didn’t stop there. After the game, Aaron wouldn’t go out with friends, he’d be reviewing the game film with his dad. Looking back, it doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s achieved so much. He even told me back then that he dreamed of playing in the NFL. I playfully told him that someday people would call his home stadium ‘Mister Rodgers’ Neighborhood,’ and now, seeing his success, it feels like a prediction come true!

Okay, so everyone knows about Shailene, right? But get this – before Shailene, Aaron was actually engaged to someone else! Her name is Destiny Newton, and honestly, it’s SO interesting. Apparently, he’d known her for YEARS, since way back in 2011, and had a huge crush! They got really serious, she was beautiful and from his hometown, but sadly it didn’t work out – they broke up in 2013. But here’s the crazy part… it sounds like his parents really liked her! The book says they secretly hoped he’d marry Destiny! One of his friends even told the author, ‘We all loved her. We trusted her. She would have kept the family closer.’ Seriously, can you imagine?! It’s like, a whole other Aaron Rodgers love story we never knew about!

In 2014, Aaron Rodgers began dating Olivia Munn, and soon after, rumors surfaced about tension with his family – his father Ed, mother Darla, and brothers Luke and Jordan. Ed Rodgers later told The New York Times that Aaron stopped speaking to his family by the end of that year.

According to the book Out of the Darkness, Aaron’s parents visited him in Green Bay before a game in December, and reportedly had a positive conversation with Olivia. They left believing everything was okay.

However, things reportedly changed after a disappointing game in Buffalo. The book claims Olivia called Aaron’s parents that night and asked them not to attend his next game in Florida, as they had planned.

Olivia Munn didn’t respond to requests for comment, and Aaron’s parents told the author they hadn’t said anything negative to her before the alleged phone call. Ed Rodgers added that he simply pointed out he and Darla were Aaron’s parents, while Olivia was just his girlfriend.

The book also details other reported conflicts. An unnamed source close to the family claimed Darla was bothered by Olivia’s public comments about sex, including those made before the Buffalo game.

TopMob News has contacted Olivia’s representative for a response to the book’s claims.

Aaron and Olivia ended their three-year relationship in 2017. The following year, Olivia discussed rumors surrounding Aaron’s family during an interview with Andy Cohen. She stated she had a friendly relationship with Aaron’s brother, Jordan, who appeared on The Bachelorette with JoJo Fletcher and had previously spoken about the family’s strained relationship. Olivia mentioned meeting Aaron’s parents only a couple of times and didn’t say whether she’d met his other brother, Luke.

Olivia indicated the family issues began before they started dating, explaining that Aaron hadn’t spoken to his parents or one of his brothers for about eight months prior to their relationship. (Sources suggest this brother was Luke, who didn’t respond to interview requests.) She even said she encouraged Aaron to try and repair his relationship with his parents, and that they had a positive conversation in 2014, leading to them starting to visit her while she lived in Green Bay. However, she hinted that things later changed.

Aaron’s brother, Ed, disputed Olivia’s account, claiming it was false that Aaron was estranged from his family before they dated. He told the interviewer that Olivia fabricated the story to make herself look better, and that the family had a close and positive relationship with Aaron before and during their relationship.

Olivia discussed with Andy how achieving success and maintaining family relationships can be difficult, especially when everyone’s aspirations are linked, as is the case with Aaron and his family, who are all involved in professional sports. She believes Aaron is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and his family’s careers are directly tied to his own, creating a complicated dynamic. While acknowledging the situation isn’t simple, Olivia felt Aaron was unfairly treated. Aaron’s mother, Darla, disagreed with this assessment, stating that their family doesn’t operate like some celebrity families, such as the Kardashians, who she feels prioritize fame over all else.

In his book, Aaron stated that Olivia, who shares a two-year-old son, Malcolm, with her husband John Mulaney, wasn’t responsible for the family issues and wasn’t involved in past conflicts. He praised his relationship with Olivia and questioned why his parents and siblings chose to publicly discuss their disagreements. He compared the situation to poker, suggesting they’re making things up because they don’t have a strong position.

The book also details other instances of family tension, such as Aaron skipping a friend’s wedding in 2015 because his family was also invited, feeling they didn’t understand the situation’s complexities. Following Jordan’s appearance on The Bachelorette, Aaron told WISN 12 Sports he believes it’s generally inappropriate to discuss family matters publicly and didn’t want to elaborate, but wished Jordan well. Jordan did not respond to interview requests about the book, and TopMob News hasn’t received a comment from him either.

After his relationship with Olivia ended, Aaron Rodgers began dating Danica Patrick in 2018, though they had actually met years earlier at the ESPYS in 2012. Danica, a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, recalled on The Jenny McCarthy Show that their initial connection was brief, exchanging only email addresses.

During their relationship, the couple enjoyed public appearances, traveled to Peru, and shared glimpses of their lives together on social media. While reports surfaced in 2019 suggesting they were living together in a lavish Malibu mansion, Aaron later clarified in Out of the Darkness that he had purchased the property on his own.

The couple eventually split in 2020, but Aaron has often spoken positively about their time together. He shared on the Aubrey Marcus podcast in 2022 that the relationship was beneficial because they were both on personal journeys of self-discovery, with a shared interest in spirituality and meditation.

TopMob News first reported in February 2021 that Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley were dating long-distance. Soon after, Rodgers announced his engagement at the NFL Honors, and Woodley later confirmed on The Tonight Show that the proposal had happened some time earlier.

Woodley isn’t a major focus in Ian O’Connor’s book, Out of the Darkness, but O’Connor writes that she supported Rodgers when he skipped the Packers’ offseason activities in 2021 due to disagreements with the team. The author notes a video Woodley reportedly shared showing ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith criticizing how the Packers treated Rodgers.

Reports of a split between Woodley and Rodgers surfaced in February 2022, after Rodgers publicly expressed his love for her on Instagram. Later, Woodley spoke about the challenges of being in a very public relationship.

In a January 2023 interview with PORTER, she explained, “I dated someone in America who was very famous. It was the first time I’d been in a ‘famous’ relationship, and I saw how much scrutiny there was, the opinions, and people wanting to know everything about our lives. It felt violating, when before it had been fun. I’m a private person, and I felt like I was sharing too much with people I didn’t trust every time I posted something.”

Aaron usually keeps his personal life private, but he spoke about rumors regarding his sexuality back in 2013.

On his radio show, Tuesdays With Aaron, he stated, “I’m not gay. I’m genuinely attracted to women, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

The quarterback explained he spoke up because the rumor was presented in a way he felt was disrespectful to his gay friends.

Aaron explained in the book that he was bothered by how the rumor was presented because it seemed designed to make being gay something to be ashamed of, and he has many friends who are gay. He’d previously discussed the issue with radio host Jason Wilde several times, telling him he wanted to challenge the people spreading the rumor – not because of how it affected him personally, but because they were using it to shame others for being gay, implying it was something negative.

Although Aaron’s relationship with his family is still uncertain, he hopes to have children someday. He explained in his book that he wants to be a father because he longs to fully care for someone – to provide them with everything they need, like food, a safe home, and support throughout their life.

Regarding repairing their relationship, Aaron says he and his family are still working on it, but it’s definitely a possibility. He explained to Ian that just when he thinks they’re making progress, something unexpected happens. He really wants to have a relationship with his dad.

Recently, Aaron saw his dad at the 2023 American Century Championship golf tournament – where both of them were present – and went to speak with him. Aaron thought about what would be the best way to approach the situation and show his father he cared. Despite past difficulties, Aaron says he loves his dad and doesn’t hold any resentment.

According to the book, the family reunited with hugs and expressions of love after years of silence. However, Ian mentioned they didn’t stay in touch. He did note that Ed and Darla were at Aaron’s first Jets game, where he unfortunately suffered a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season.

Despite everything, the parents remain hopeful about the future. Darla explained to Ian, “We want to forgive and forget, and we’d be happy to move forward. We’re open to whatever boundaries are needed, and it feels strange not being able to share important life updates with him.” Ed added, “We love him unconditionally and simply want a relationship with him, no matter what happened.”

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2026-05-20 22:49