GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2014 Not that there was any doubt, but Aaron Rodgers told Green Bay Packers reporters Thursday that he will retire with the team that drafted him when he closes his career.<\/p>\n
Rodgers, speaking on a Zoom call ahead of the Packers\u2019 matchup with his Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, will one day have his No. 12 on the Lambeau Field facade as the seventh number retired in Packers history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was there for 18 years,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cRegardless of when I hang it up, that\u2019s the bulk of my career. I\u2019ll retire a Packer and see what happens after that. I\u2019ve got a lot of love for the organization, my time there. They asked this week, \u2018Is it a revenge game?\u2019 or whatever. What do I got to be avenging here? They made me a ton of money. I grew up there, spent some of the best years of my life there. I\u2019ve got nothing but love for the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn near everything great in my life is because of my football career, and my football career starts and will end one day with Green Bay. So I\u2019ve got a lot of love for all those memories and a lot of great friends I still carry with me to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodgers told \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d this summer that he\u2019s \u201cpretty sure\u201d 2025 will be his final season in the NFL. If Rodgers retires after this season, that would likely send him into the Packers Hall of Fame four years later and the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later, both on the first ballot. Rodgers must be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame before the Packers retire his number, though nobody has worn No. 12 since they traded him in 2023, and nobody will before it\u2019s officially engraved next to Brett Favre\u2019s No. 4.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old Rodgers is the league\u2019s oldest player in his 21st season, but still more than capable of slinging the rock. He showcased as much in last Thursday night\u2019s shootout against the Cincinnati Bengals, and has thrown 14 touchdowns to five interceptions through six games this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe s\u2014 look the same,\u201d said Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, Rodgers\u2019 teammate in 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s his arm. It\u2019s not really nothing else, just brain and arm, so he ain\u2019t losing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Rodgers\u2019 allegiance will lie with the Steelers (4-2) on Sunday night in Pittsburgh against the Packers (4-1-1), his desire to make his former team the 32nd one he\u2019s defeated doesn\u2019t detract from the memories he made in Green Bay.<\/p>\n
Rodgers took a trip down memory lane Thursday on Zoom, from riding a custom golf cart across South Oneida Street to practice with former Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy putting an end to road-trip pranks by former Packers Matt Flynn, Graham Harrell, T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton because they were too crazy, throwing blankets and pillows at sleeping teammates on planes and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were always messing around, having a good time,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cThose were some of the most fun \u2026 going way back, we had a crazy crew.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are 13 players still on the Packers who played at least a season with Rodgers, who last played for the team in 2022, but Rodgers had one at the top of his list when asked for his jersey swap preference after Sunday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019d probably be Jordan (Love),\u201d Rodgers said of the quarterback he mentored for three seasons before Love took over as Green Bay\u2019s starter.<\/p>\n
\nPackers-Steelers Thursday injury report pic.twitter.com\/xdsPpVk5io<\/a><\/p>\n