Since the Green Bay Packers folded, the uncertain future of star quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been the big topic in the NFL.

What hardly anyone thought possible before the season has come to pass.

The NFL playoffs will take place without the Green Bay Packers – and thus also without Aaron Rodgers.

Inevitably, the question now arises whether Rodgers will end his career after the sobering 16:20 defeat in the last game against the Detroit Lions.

After all, he is now 39 years old and had already flirted with a farewell after last season.

What does Rodgers say about his future?

Rodgers himself doesn’t want to say anything concrete so soon after this huge disappointment. He also asked more questions than he gave answers after the game. “Do I feel like I still have something to prove to myself. Do I want to come back and give it my all again? Or is it time to step down? Is it time for another voice to lead this team? “

What he could say for sure was simply, “I think I need to step back and think about these things for now. I have to wait and see how it feels with a bit of distance. “

What are the next steps?

Rodgers also stressed that he alone would not be the one to decide his future with the Packers. How the franchise envisions the future is just as important, he said.

The fact that he already sat down with the organisation’s front office on Tuesday and Wednesday after the loss to the Lions proves that the exchange with them is very important to him.

A hint of this was provided by Pat McAfee, on whose talk show Rodgers was supposed to have been a guest on Tuesday. But McAfee tweeted, “There will be no Aaron Rodgers with me today. He’s in a meeting with the Packers today and tomorrow. “

There will be no @AaronRodgers12 Tuesday today… he is meeting with the Packers today and tomorrow.

We’re gonna have a lot of answers on what the future looks like for Aaron Rodgers next Tuesday PMSLive pic.twitter.com/YH4Tpir4Mo

– Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 10, 2023

When can a decision be expected?

Former NFL pro McAfee concluded from the quarterback’s appointments with the Packers that there will be “a lot of answers about Rodgers’ future as early as next Tuesday.”

Whether he will definitely stay on or quit, however, is unlikely to be decided next week. Rodgers had stressed that he wanted to take his time to make this decision.

A look at last year could provide an indication of when he will finally announce his decision. There, too, Rodgers asked for time to think about his future. The decision to move on was announced on 8 March.

What do the Packers think?
The team from Green Bay has repeatedly emphasised that they would continue with Rodgers as long as he himself feels the desire and motivation.

Those statements came from both head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst.

What are Aaron Rodgers’ options?

Rodgers himself also emphasised recently that he will finish his career in Green Bay and that he is not thinking about signing a contract elsewhere.

There has been speculation in the American media that he could go to the New York Jets, for example, and replace the disgraced Zach Wilson.

But such reports belong to the realm of speculation. There are only two options for Rodgers: Retirement or another year with the Packers, for whom he has played continuously since 2005. That much is certain.

What is his contract situation?

The fact that a transfer is all but out of the question isn’t just because of his loyalty to Green Bay. The truth is also that another team could hardly afford him.

Because the contract he signed after last season, which runs until 2026, has a total volume of 150 million dollars.

This season alone, his cap hit was 28.5 million. Next season it would be 31.6 million – so another good three million dollars more.

For Rodgers himself, whose estimated fortune is around 200 million dollars, the other million would no longer matter.

He could do without the sums guaranteed to him for another year with the Packers, Rodgers said.

At least that much is certain: he will not make his decision about the future dependent on money.