Aaron Rodgers did not have permission from the New York Jets to skip mandatory minicamp last month, and the star quarterback received a fine for his decision.
Rodgers spoke with the media after the Jets held their training camp practice on Wednesday. He was asked by a reporter if the Jets fined him $50,000, and Rodgers smirked and said “I think it might’ve been a little bit more than that.”
Rodgers then said Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Rodgers’ teammates all understood the situation. The 40-year-old insists there were never any issues.
“I had talks with all my teammates about it. I think they understood. It’s obviously more of an issue outside the building than it was inside the building,” Rodgers said. “Robert and I are great. We had great conversations throughout the offseason, had a fun one last night in his office until later on. It is what it is. I’m an adult. I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming and also knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt. I wished there hadn’t been a conflict scheduling wise, but it was what it was.”
Aaron Rodgers says he was fined for missing mandatory minicamp:
"Robert and I are great. We had great conversations throughout the offseason. pic.twitter.com/nR4XzaDrtD
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) July 24, 2024
Rodgers missed all three days of mandatory minicamp, which resulted in slightly more than $100,000 in fines. The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association states that the fines cannot be waived for players who are not playing under rookie contracts.
Rodgers claimed that he planned his trip to Egypt before the offseason schedule came out and did not expect it to interfere with mandatory minicamp. He has also downplayed the significance of those practices compared to other offseason workouts.
It was clear at the time that Jets players were not bothered by Rodgers’ absence, even if it made for some juicy headlines.
