Aaron Rodgers says 2026 will be his final NFL season: ‘This is it’

Aaron Rodgers has said that the 2026 season will be the final one of his NFL career.

“Yes. This is it,” the Steelers quarterback told reporters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday when asked if the upcoming campaign would be his last.

The four-time MVP agreed last weekend to return to the Steelers on a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $25m. The 42-year-old, who is entering his 22nd NFL season, led the Steelers to the AFC North division title last season.

The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy. Rodgers’s coach for 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, after Mike Tomlin stepped down this offseason. McCarthy. Rodgers defeated Tomlin’s Steelers to win the Super Bowl during the 2010 season in Green Bay, and the quarterback earned two of his four MVPs playing under McCarthy.

After signing a one-year deal with the Steelers last June. he told the Pat McAfee Show that the 2025 season would probably be his final in the NFL. He then guided the Steelers to the division title. a playoff appearance, throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Rodgers said Wednesday that he contemplated retirement after Tomlin resigned following the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans in January,. the hiring of McCarthy changed his mind.

“When [Tomlin] said he was stepping away, that was an emotional moment just because we all love him so much. care about him, and I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh,” Rodgers said. “But when the decision was made to hire [McCarthy], I started opening my mind back up to coming back.”

After 18 seasons with the Packers, Rodgers played for the New York Jets from 2023 to 2024. He told reporters that playing under McCarthy again would be a “full circle” moment.

“There was some doubt for sure, but I had good conversations with Mike going back to when he was hired. It’s nice to come back. It felt different than last year, cause I knew some of the guys. the people that work here,” Rodgers said. “So it felt good coming in.”