After the Green Bay Packers were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday night, a dejected Aaron Rodgers left the field with long-term teammate Randall Cobb, with the two sharing a moment together knowing that it could be the last time they play together.
Not only that though, Rodgers gave a slight indication that he may never be seen in a Packers jersey ever again, nor even in on the NFL gridiron. After the season-ending loss to the Detroit Lions, knocking them out of the playoffs, Rodgers would also politely refuse to swap jerseys with opposition players, stating that he'd 'want to keep hold of this one'.
It's been a disappointing year for Rodgers, failing to make the playoffs whilst also not individually playing close to the level that fans had seen from him the previous two years, when he won back-to-back MVP awards.
All this considered, some fans have wondered whether he could walk away from the sport, or even ask to be traded. But when looking into it, the chance of Rodgers doing so are extremely low.
Just 10 months ago, Rodgers signed a four-year, $200million extension deal. Whilst the contract is forward loaded, with Rodgers making a good amount of that money this season, the 39-year-old would essentially be walking away from around $160m should he choose to retire.
Next season, he will receive $60m, with $85m then spread over the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons. What's more, much of Rodgers contract comes guaranteed if he indeed plays in 2023.
This, meaning he is much more likely to retire after 2023, than walk away from millions this spring. Trading Rodgers is also unlikely to be an option for Green Bay.
If the Packers were to trade Rodgers this season, they would incur a dead cap hit of $99 million. This, meaning that half of their cap space would be going to a player not on their roster, making it almost impossible to put a team together.
Therefore, fans can expect to see Rodgers return for his 19th season - in a Green jersey.
