After a report suggested in March that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers could team up with 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his running mate, the Jets starter has revealed why he opted to stay in the NFL instead.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Rodgers was asked about the ordeal, which ended in Kennedy picking attorney Nicole Shanahan as his vice president candidate instead of Rodgers.
According to the Jets quarterback, it all came down to his desire to keep playing as to why things didn’t ultimately work out in the political realm.
“I love Bobby; we had a couple really nice conversations,” Rodgers told reporters. “But there were really two options. It was, retire and be his V.P. or keep playing, and I wanted to keep playing.”
Aaron Rodgers says he had two options – retire and be RFK's vice president or keep playing football
He wanted to keep playing football pic.twitter.com/tSKDSupxzn
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) May 21, 2024
The son of late former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has earned a reputation for being a prominent voice in the widely discredited anti-vaccine movement. His false claims over the COVID-19 vaccine got him booted from Instagram in 2021. Kennedy has also earned criticism for antisemitism and racism in his campaigning.
The Kennedy family recently disavowed a super PAC-funded Super Bowl commercial that promoted RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign — though the candidate said he was not involved in its creation.
Like Kennedy, Rodgers became an outspoken critic against the COVID-19 vaccine during its rollout and made false claims about its risks. He also earned criticism for misleading the public on his vaccine status during the 2021 season.
The Jets quarterback’s appearances on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show came under fire during the 2023 season, especially when Rodgers was alleged of making baseless claims about late-night host Jimmy Kimmel being tied to sex trafficking. Rodgers later denied that being the intent of his words.
Rodgers’ regular bookings on the show ended before the season was over.
Instead of joining Kennedy, the Jets quarterback appears settled in his NFL duties and content with turning down interest for a career in politics, at least for now.
