For the second time in as many years, all eyes are on Aaron Rodgers for the first Monday Night Football game of the NFL season.
Hopefully this year’s New York Jets season opener will go better than the last one, in which the four-time MVP tore his Achilles just four snaps into his career with Gang Green.
Despite the injury, Rodgers remained at the forefront of the 2023 season, thanks to his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show and his repeated hints that he was going to make a miraculous recovery to return to the field by the end of the season (he didn’t). But if there was any question whether the former Packers star would shy away from the spotlight this season, that was put to rest on Monday, with Netflix announcing an upcoming docuseries about his recovery from the aforementioned injury.
According to a release, Aaron Rodgers: Enigma will release on Dec. 17, and “will reveal a side of Rodgers that few get to see.” The three-part series was produced by Religion of Sports (Simone Biles: Rising), Skydance Sports and NFL Films, with a 90-second trailer providing viewers with a glimpse of what they can expect.
“I believe in the power of prayer and intention,” Rodgers says in the trailer. “I was surrounded by a bunch of really special people in my life and we just laid down a lot of prayers.”
With the trailer only focusing on one specific — and relatively vanilla — scene, it will be interesting to see the timeline the docuseries covers. In addition to his injury, Rodgers has been no stranger to controversy over the course of the past year, including his feud with Jimmy Kimmel, his reported candidacy to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate and allegations regarding his beliefs about the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Considering the entities involved — particularly NFL Films — one would imagine that the docuseries will downplay such controversies, if not avoid them altogether in an effort to focus on the football aspects of Rodgers’ life. Nevertheless, regardless of his playing status, it appears the 40-year-old quarterback will once again have an outsized presence during the NFL season.
[Netflix]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.