Aaron Rodgers made it perfectly clear that he viewed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets as a revenge game, but the star quarterback is not experiencing those same emotions as he prepares to face his other former team.
Rodgers spoke on Wednesday about the Steelers’ upcoming “Sunday Night Football” game against the Green Bay Packers. The 41-year-old had nothing but positive things to say about the franchise that gave him his start in the NFL.
“I don’t have any animosity toward the organization. Obviously, I wish things would have been better in our last year there. I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization,” Rodgers said. “This is not a revenge game for me. I’m just excited to see some of those guys and be on ‘Sunday Night Football’ again.”
There were numerous reports of issues between Rodgers and the Packers’ front office before he left the team. That is why a reporter followed up on Wednesday by asking if not having animosity toward the Packers is something Rodgers had to “work to feel.” The former Super Bowl champion gave a telling smile.
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, maybe. I have a lot of great memories from my time there. … I grew up there. I spent 18 years there from 21-39, so I’m thankful for my time there,” Rodgers said. “I obviously would have loved to ride off into the sunset after a Super Bowl win, but that’s not the way the league goes sometimes.
“I knew the writing was on the wall when Jordan (Love) was picked. It was a matter of time. I happened to win MVP the first two years he was with us, but I knew at some point there would be a change and if I wanted to play it would probably be elsewhere.”
Aaron Rodgers says he doesn’t view Sunday against the Packers as a “revenge game.”
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 22, 2025
“There’s no animosity toward the organization. Obviously I wish things had been better in our last year there.”
Rodgers said he saw the “writing on the wall” when the org drafted Jordan Love. pic.twitter.com/yRGBfxI6qo
The end of Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay went a lot differently than his final days with the Jets. Rodgers essentially forced the Packers to trade him, whereas he openly ripped the Jets last offseason over the way they handled his release.
After the Steelers beat New York 34-32 in Week 1, Rodgers admitted he was happy to beat everyone associated with the Jets. If the Steelers beat the Packers, it sounds like Rodgers is planning to react a lot differently than he did after his first game with Pittsburgh.
