Deadly Disease Has Kept Aaron Rodgers From Committing To The NFL This Offseason

If one listens to the Aaron Rodgers visit on the Joe Rogan podcast, you understand why he hasn't signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers or any NFL team yet this offseason. But you'd have to wade through myriad other topics to get there.

The Aaron Rodgers Interview Experience

Rodgers and Rogan talked about:

Olympic doping.

UFOs.

George Soros.

Canada as the 51st state.

Biological men in women's sports.

Covid vaccines.

Jeffrey Epstein.

Diddy.

And Robert F. Kennedy, of whom Rodgers remains a big supporter.

Rodgers Inner Circle Battles Cancer

But amid all those topics, Rodgers offered the most understandable reason why he has not signed a contract for the 2025 NFL season – and, frankly, might not unless a situation not in his control changes:

"I've been in the weeds with these people who are close to me that have cancer," Rodgers explained to Rogan.

That is the most detail Rodgers has given about what is taking up much of his attention and energy this offseason. 

Rodgers previously explained part of the reason he hasn't been willing to commit to a team. It's because he's committed to supporting the people close to him.

"I have a couple of people in my inner circle that are really battling some personal stuff," Rodgers has said.

"So I have a lot of things that are taking my attention and have, really, since January that have taken my attention away from football. That's where I've been focusing most of my attention."

Rodgers Explanation Shames Critics

This explains a lot. And it should make the critics and cynics who have called Rodgers "a drama queen" for delaying signing and have even suggested he's holding the Steelers and the NFL hostage, ashamed.

The quarterback has someone close to him – one source said two people – that have gotten a cancer diagnosis and Rodgers has promised to support them in their difficult time while they fight the emotional and practical battle against the disease.

The Steelers, a source tells OutKick, are aware of Rodgers' situation and the exact reason for his reticence to sign.

Rodgers, the source said, explained to the team he would not want to sign with them and then leave them to go attend to his "inner circle."

The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Spotify displayed on a phone screen and headphones are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on February 3, 2022. (Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Rodgers Avoiding Bad Look

Rodgers apparently learned a lesson last year when he skipped mandatory minicamp with the Jets while on a trip to Egypt because of the withering criticism he received from outside the organization and the fine he got from the team.

He doesn't want to repeat a scenario where he signs with, say, the Steelers and then misses OTAs. Or misses minicamp.

All the while, pundits would be calling him a diva for not being present with his teammates. 

Rodgers, instead, would like to "commit" to signing with the Steelers by June 10, which is the start of the team's mandatory minicamp, some within the NFL believe. 

But this comes with no guarantees because, again, Rodgers cannot dictate the direction cancer treatments and recoveries take.