Aaron Rodgers Hollywood actress fiance.
Aaron Rodgers will be the guest host “Jeopardy!” in April.
Aaron Rodgers donates $ 1 million to help struggling small businesses.
There are a few ways a defender can make headlines in the off-season. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson, both unhappy in their current roles, are taking an angle. Rodgers is apparently covering everyone else.
Just a few weeks away from his surprising and, for Packers fans, aggravating the loss to Tampa Bay in the NFC championship, Rodgers remains as publicly visible as he can without actively taking pictures. Sure, he’s still an idiot in the State Farm commercials – there’s no Rodgers Rate, you know – but in the third act of his career in the NFL, he’s also preparing to expand beyond football.
First, his surprise engagement to actress Shailene Woodley – hey, Rodgers’ personal life is his problem, but he’ll soon discover that it won’t be his business alone. (Congratulations to the happy couple, by the way.) Yes, he has had half a high profile relationship before; he and former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick were once one thing, but that didn’t resonate much beyond the “SportsCenter”. Getting involved with Hollywood is a completely separate business. After a few rounds with the Hollywood media or a few angry Shailene stans, Rodgers may wish for the comforting embrace of Khalil Mack or Aaron Donald.
In front of positive public relations, Rodgers’ plan to establish a foundation to help his hometown, Chico, California, survive the economic devastation related to COVID is, without a doubt, welcome news for that community. It follows the $ 1 million donation from Rodgers in 2018 after destructive forest fires. Yes, the news was announced via the Rodgers camp press release, but when you’re donating seven digits, you’re entitled to a little self-congratulation.
It’s “Jeopardy!” perform which is more interesting, however. Rodgers is clearly and wisely preparing for a life after football. Peyton Manning has made his way – the friendly one-handed megastar on just about everything – and it’s easy to see Rodgers sliding straight into that role when his own game days are over, be it in three years, five or 10. (Hey, he sat for three years ago from Brett Favre; that should earn him three extra seasons at the end, right?)
Yeah yeah, Packers fans are screaming, What does this Hollywood / brand trash have to do with what will happen at Lambeau Field? Fortunately, not much. By BetMGM, Packers currently sit 9-1 to win the Super Bowl LVI; only Chiefs in 11-2 stand a better chance.
Okay, Rodgers was not happy with the way the 2020 Packers season ended, a defeat that, you must remember, included Matt LaFleur’s controversial goal decision at the end of the game, while losing eight points.
“It wasn’t my decision,” said Rodgers of the call, a gentle step aside. He did not throw LaFleur under the bus, but accompanied LaFleur to the sidewalk and pointed to the lane where the buses run.
Rodgers also threw out one of those provocative lines which sets fire to blogs and sports radio segments – “The future of many guys, they are uncertain, including me” – but Rodgers knows the value of a properly implemented quote. (Witness your tequila quote – “I served myself about four fingers” – after last year’s draft, when the Packers selected their supposed replacement, Jordan Love. Rodgers knows how to grease the gears that make the media engine buzz.)
Unlike Wilson and Watson, Rodgers does not cry out for revolt. Rodgers has his eye on that second Lombardi, and the best way to get him is with his current team. He left the Mike McCarthy regime, which he believed had undermined his potential, and in one year of testing or finishing, all he did was deliver an MVP season. Now, with a favorite trainer and system, it’s up to him to get to the top, and there aren’t many higher steps on the ladder.
It is important to note that all of this external activity is not just noise. He is also, consciously or not, isolating himself from the possibility of not getting that second Super Bowl ring. Manning has five Lombardis less than Brady, but guess who will hear more in 10 years. Winning makes you a legend. Fame makes you immortal.
It already looks like 2021 will be the year of Aaron Rodgers, the Man of the Renaissance. Whether it ends with him as the last man standing in February doesn’t matter; we will see a lot of it all the way there.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at [email protected].
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