If He’s Not Traded, Rodgers Could Retire

Aaron Rodgers would have to forfeit a lot of money if he were to hang up his cleats.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want to play for the Green Bay Packers. And Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he has no intention of trading the three-time MVP quarterback.

That doesn’t leave a lot of middle ground should the two sides not be able to mend the fences that swiftly crumbled following January’s loss in the NFC Championship Game.

From Rodgers’ perspective, he has two options aside from returning. One, he could just not show up – not for the mandatory June minicamp, not for the start of training camp sometime around Aug. 1, not for anything. That would be a costly decision; teams can fine players up to $50,000 per day.

Or, he could retire, which is something NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport mentioned on Friday.

If Aaron Rodgers retires (to host Jeopardy or just retire), he would have to repay the team $11.5M this year and $11.5M if he remains retired next year — all from his signing bonus. Unless the situation is repaired to his liking, this is a serious consideration, I’m told. https://t.co/kEQwpexqX0

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2021

If Rodgers were to retire, the Packers could go after Rodgers’ signing bonus. As noted by Jason Fitzgerald from OverTheCap.com, Rodgers would have to pay back not only the $23 million of remaining signing bonus money but potentially the $6.8 million roster bonus he collected at the start of the league-year.

RELATED: AARON RODGERS' SOLID RATINGS ON "JEOPARDY!"

Of course, Rodgers probably can afford it. He’s pocketed $240 million from the team over the duration of his career, according to Spotrac. And he’s made untold millions pitching insurance (nationally), health care (locally) and other companies.

ANALYSIS: WHAT HAPPENED?

On Thursday night, that seemed to be the furthest thing from Gutekunst’s mind. Having just selected Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes with the team’s first-round pick, the GM spoke optimistically that the team and its star quarterback could salvage their relationship in hopes of making another run to a Super Bowl.

Rodgers, knowing full well it’s a short list of quarterbacks with two-plus Super Bowl rings, has been chasing a second Super Bowl championship for more than a decade. While he might not believe Gutekunst can put the finishing touches on the roster to finally get the team over the hump, retirement guarantees he’ll wind up with only one ring.

“I’m not going to speak for Aaron, but we have a really good team and I do think he’ll play for us again,” Gutekunst said. “We’re going to work towards that and we’ve been working towards that on a number of different fronts. The value that he adds to our football is really immeasurable, you know what I mean? He brings so much to the table not only as a player but as a leader. He’s so important to his teammates, to his coaches, so, yeah, that’s the goal.”

If the Packers were to give in and trade Rodgers, it would cost an additional $1.15 million on the salary cap ($38.36 million of dead cap; $37.20 million in savings). If the team were to wait until after June 1, it could spread the dead-cap charge over two years and realize $16.05 million in cap savings.