The New York Jets are parting ways with Aaron Rodgers after two chaotic seasons in which Rodgers’ off-field persona and media character swallowed up the team’s efforts on the field.
Many of those distractions stemmed from Rodgers’ closely watched weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN, where Rodgers would not only sound off on the Jets season but also his own political career, hot-button news topics and the wider sports and political landscapes.
According to new details from NFL insider Dianna Russini (as plugged into the Jets organization as anyone), it sounds as if Rodgers’ appearances on PMS became an issue as the team discussed his future.
Russini reported on her podcast Scoop City this week that when new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey met with Aaron Rodgers after the season, they drew a hard line. If Rodgers were to return, he not only would need to participate in all offseason team activities, but also stop going on The Pat McAfee Show. That revelation drew an audible reaction from co-host and FS1 personality Chase Daniel.
“They had a conversation with him of, ‘if you were to stay here, here’s how we would want it to be,” Russini said. “This to me is Aaron Glenn getting control back.”
However, that condition from Jets management may have been a moot point. It sounds from Russini as if Rodgers wanted out either way.
“I think that no matter what the Jets were going to say, Aaron Rodgers wanted to move on,” Russini added.
Just last year alone, aside from his constant bickering with local media, Rodgers used PMS to lock horns with nearly every top personality at ESPN. At other points, he weighed in on geopolitics and entertained a run as vice president. Even when he did not engage directly, he was a main character across all of sports media for all the wrong reasons. And in truth, PMS is one of the tamest podcasts on Rodgers’ resume — it just happens to be the biggest sports show.
For a team with a talented young core and new leadership trying to reset after a 5-12 season, the Aaron Rodgers circus clearly was not worth the drama.
Perhaps New York would have brought Rodgers back if he agreed to keep a lower profile. But of course that’s not in his nature.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.