Steelers QB Aaron Rogers Announces 2026 Will Be His Final Season

Aaron Rodgers kept the Pittsburgh Steelers in limbo for months this offseason, not knowing whether or not he would play in 2026.

Pittsburgh won't have to go through that rollercoaster next year, however, as Rodgers did the Steelers a courtesy on Wednesday, announcing that 2026 would be his final NFL season.

"Aaron do you believe this could be your last year or do you think about that right now?" a reporter asked.

"Yes," Rodgers responded.

"As in your last year?" another reporter questioned.

"This is it, yep," Rodgers stoically replied.

What It Means

Rodgers will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

His future Hall of Fame resume is second-to-none: 10 Pro Bowls, five-time All-Pro selections, four league MVPs, a Super Bowl championship, and a Super Bowl MVP. He's also led the NFL in passer rating four times and touchdown passes twice, and is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.

Rodgers holds several NFL records including highest career passer rating (102.2), best career touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.3-1), lowest career interception percentage (1.4%), highest single-season passer rating (122.5), and most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (402).

He also ranks fifth all-time in passing yards (66,274) and fourth in touchdown passes (527), though he'll likely pass Peyton Manning (539) for third all-time by the end of next season.

But aside from his amazing on-field feats, many fans will likely remember Rodgers more for what went on off the field:

• Ayahuasca retreats
• His own personal war on the COVID vaccine (and the irony of getting COVID after claiming he was immunized)
• Being fined by the NFL for attending a Halloween event while unvaccinated
• Being threatened with legal action over remarks made about Jimmy Kimmel being in the Epstein files
• Claims he was to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate during the 2024 presidential election
• The disparaging personal remarks made about him by former partners Danica Patrick and Shailene Woodley
• The estrangement from his family that played out publicly on "The Bachelorette"

The unfortunate part for Rodgers is he was often in the headlines more for off-the-field issues than for football reasons over the final years of his career, and his legacy will almost certainly be affected by it.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM.