Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been the talk of the NFL since his team lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in late January.
Is he playing, retiring, sitting out, or being traded?
A jovial and candid Rogers appeared on ESPN during Kenny Mayne’s final show on the network on Monday.
Rodgers does not talk about those specifics, but he is airing his grievances with the Packers organization that in his mind has let him down over the years.
He talks as though he has nothing to lose so he has obviously exhausted all internal possibilities to fix the issues between himself and the Packers.
Since that did not work, the future Hall of Famer has every right to go public with his grievances.
What He Told Kenny Mayne
Rodgers has never been this candid about his relationship with backup quarterback Jordan Love, who the Packers moved up to draft in the 2020 NFL Draft.
“With my situation, look it’s never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan. I love Jordan; he’s a great kid. [We’ve had] a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. An incredible 16 years. It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”
Love is not the problem; it is the Packers organization.
He told Mayne there is no room for misinterpretation:
“History is important, the legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. People make an organization, people make a business and sometimes that gets forgotten. Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people, not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It’s built by the people.”
Those are damning words from a person who is usually guarded with what he says.
Packers Ownership Is Different
The other reason he is speaking out is because the Packers have a unique ownership situation.
Instead of one individual or family/small group of owners, the Packers fans own the team after buying shares.
This open ownership structure has probably made this conflict worse.
Feels like #Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is being painted as Aaron’s main adversary. Bet it extends beyond Gutekunst to Team President Mark Murphy.
Due to the archaic albeit cute Ownership structure, Murphy / Gutekunst essentially answer to nobody. There’s no Owner to break ties.
— Chad Forbes (@NFLDraftBites) May 25, 2021
If Rodgers had an owner to speak with, this issue likely would have been resolved internally long ago.
“That’s the biggest issue in Green Bay.”
– @alanhahn on how the Packers ownership situation has been a problem while dealing with Aaron Rodgers’ recent unhappiness.#KJZ | @keyshawn | @RealJayWilliams | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/FFv9IOn7gA
— Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin (@KeyJayandZ) May 6, 2021
None of what he told Kenny Mayne can be news to the Packers’ front office; they know what is going on with him.
Of course, there are two sides to every story, but after hearing Rodgers’ side, it is hard to figure out where the Packers are coming from in this conflict.
It is also hard to predict how this will end as we inch closer to the 2021 season.
NEXT: Worst-Case Scenario For Packers During 2021 NFL Season