Aaron Rodgers: All-Time Great, or Just Another Egomaniac
A Look at One of the NFL’s Most Controversial Players: Aaron Rodgers
When talking about the best NFL quarterbacks of all time, it’s impossible not to mention Aaron Rodgers.
Playing 18 years for the Green Bay Packers, he is an NFL icon. But is he an all-time great, or just another egomaniac? Read on to find out.
Rodgers led Green Bay to a Super Bowl victory in 2011, he won the NFL MVP award four times, and he is one of only five players in the league’s history to win MVP in consecutive seasons.
Rodgers is also on top of the NFL's all-time list. He is the first player with a career rating over 100. He has the highest passer rating, the best touchdown-to-interception ratio, and the lowest passing interception percentage in NFL history throughout the entire 2010s.
With all these accomplishments, Rodgers is up there with the greatest NFL players - and even athletes - of all-time. But if we look at his life off the field, things look very different…
The football superstar has been embroiled in controversy. He has experienced personal issues and spoken out to the media, all of which have damaged his reputation and, arguably, his legacy.
He has been called narcissistic and passive-aggressive, and he has collected enemies both on and off the field, even feuding with his family.
So, is Aaron Rodgers an all-time great or just another egomaniac? Let’s take a closer look.
Aaron Rodgers’ Slow Beginnings
Becoming the Aaron Rodgers we know today wasn’t an easy path. After the Packers selected him 24th in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers had to wait for his chance to get on the field.
He barely saw any playing time in his first three seasons in the league, as he played behind Brett Favre. But once the all-time great was traded to the Jets, it was Rodgers’ turn to shine.
That 2008 season was the beginning of Rodgers’ 15-year tenure as starting quarterback for the Packers. He became one of the top stars of the game, leading the Packers to a Super Bowl win in 2011 and winning four MVP awards.
He won his first MVP in 2011 - and his 122.5 passer rating with 45 touchdowns and six interceptions is still a standing NFL record today.
Nine years later, Rodgers won his third MVP and joined Steve Young as the only quarterback since the 1940s to lead the NFL in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage.
Playing for the Green Bay Packers
During his time with the Packers, Rodgers led Green Bay to a 24-5 record against the Chicago Bears to turn the all-time head-to-head record against the local rival in the Packers' favour.
He threw 64 TDs against the Bears in 29 games, soon becoming a fan favourite. These were the same fans who thought the team would fall down when Favre was replaced by Rodgers. However, he successfully filled Favre’s shoes and raised the bar for future players.
Rodgers won four MVP awards, one more than Favre. More importantly, he won the championship with the Packers in 2011, six years after Favre did.
However, as the decade passed, the Packers could only witness Rodgers’ individual success. He was still living on the title he won in 2011. He was the face of the franchise, but his issues soon came to the surface.
Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy
It was no secret that Rodgers did not have a good relationship with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, who was eventually fired in 2018, after 13 seasons with the team.
The real reason for the feud dates back to the 2005 NFL Draft, when McCarthy was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers and decided to select Alex Smith with the first overall pick, passing on Rodgers, who fell to the 24th spot as the second QB drafted that night.
After the Packers went 4-12 in Rodgers’ rookie year, they hired McCarthy to replace Mike Sherman. Just like that, McCarthy and Rodgers ended up together in Green Bay, but Rodgers never forgot what happened on draft night.
In 2018, when the Packers went 4-7-1, McCarthy got fired. He left with a 125-77-2 record. He went 18-10 in the postseason and led the Packers to a 15-1 record in the 2011 season, which is when the Packers won the Super Bowl.
Matt LaFleur took over as coach, with team President Mark Murphy calling Rodgers out. He essentially issued an ultimatum, forcing him to accept LaFleur’s coaching.
Aaron Rodgers’ Final Years with the Packers
In 2020, the Packers decided to select quarterback Jordan Love over Rodgers. This didn’t sit well with Rodgers. He was annoyed, especially as the team's front office didn’t consult him before drafting Love.
Rodgers said he wouldn’t return to the team unless the Packers fired general manager Brian Gutekunst. The Packers gave no indication that they would do so, but they also didn’t seem to want to part with the quarterback.
Rodgers stayed with the Packers, but things weren’t what they once were. He wasn’t satisfied with the attention he got on the field - and his dark side started to take over.
Before the 2021 NFL Draft, Rodgers threatened to retire from the NFL if he didn’t get traded. Just before the draft, reports came out that a deal between the Packers and the Broncos was close to final. Still, Rodgers returned to the Packers the following season.
Finally, in 2023, he was traded to the New York Jets after 18 seasons with Green Bay.
The Jets, Disappointment and Media Controversy
The whole football world was watching Aaron Rodgers’ debut for the Jets. However, after only four minutes into the season opener against the Bills, Rodgers suffered an Achilles tendon injury.
He was hurt after being sacked by Buffalo's Leonard Floyd, and he fell awkwardly on his left leg. The injury was serious, but in the following months, Rodgers showed that he was as good a self-promoter as a quarterback - maybe even better.
Check out our NFL blog - THE place for NFL news, profiles, listicles and more!
He had surgery to repair his shredded Achilles. The fastest recovery from such a career-ending injury by an elite athlete is five months.
However, only 14 weeks after his surgery, Rodgers chose to put himself in the spotlight. He appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, stating that he wasn’t 100% yet, but he was working hard to get there.
Rodgers was absolutely aware that he could not return that season, but he continued to keep himself in the spotlight during his recovery. There was no doubt that his ego needed that, but he soon found himself on everyone’s radar for the wrong reasons…
Aaron Rodgers: A Conspiracy Theorist?
In 2024, CNN reported that Rodgers engaged in conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. This allegedly took place in conversations with two people, including CNN’s Pamela Brown.
According to Brown’s recollection, Rodgers claimed the shooting was a government inside job, which the media was intentionally ignoring.
Former Packers quarterback DeShone Kizer also said that Rodgers had asked him whether he believed 9/11 had actually happened. Appearing on The Breneman Show podcast, Kizer said Rodgers believed that 9/11 was also an inside job.
What happened between Aaron Rodgers and His Family?
These public controversial moments were certainly awkward, but what can you expect from a man whose family has turned their back on him?
One of the topics that gets the most attention is Rodgers’ tense relationship with his parents and his brothers. This family feud first came to light when Aaron’s younger brother Jordan appeared on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette in 2016.
Jordan, who eventually married Fletcher in 2022, revealed that Rodgers had distanced himself from the family, and he didn’t even invite him to his wedding.
The player must have been in a dark place, especially at this crucial stage of his life. However, football is the one thing Rodgers can still turn to, even at 41. After being released by the Jets in March 2025, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed the veteran to a one-year, $13.65 million contract.
As football fans, we can only hope that Rodgers will make headlines for his performances on the field - and all of his other episodes will stay firmly in the past!
