From 17 Games to Teammate Interaction, Rodgers Upset About Proposed CBA

Aaron Rodgers is not sure how 17 games became a non-negotiable part of the CBA. Beyond that, with a 10-year labor deal up for a vote, he wondered, "Do guys really care about this stuff?"

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers is not happy about the proposed collective bargaining agreement.

“I don’t feel like this is a negotiation that the player is going to look at when I’m done playing and go, ‘Man, I’m so glad this is what we decided on,” the Green Bay Packers’ veteran quarterback said on Friday on the “Wilde and Tausch” radio show on ESPN Wisconsin on Friday.

He’s not happy about being a “show pony” in the negotiations that happened last week in Indianapolis. At the Scouting Combine, player representatives from each team approved the proposed CBA by a 17-14 vote (with one player representative abstaining), despite strenuous objections from Rodgers and other veteran players. It was sent to the players on Thursday morning for a majority vote. If passed, the CBA would extend through 2030.

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“I don’t think they realized maybe my ability to speak in those environments and what I really was passionate about,” Rodgers said.

He’s not happy about the 17th game.

“The (NFL)PA came around during the season and in the offseason last year and kind of gauged the interest on where people were at, what we wanted, what was negotiable, what was non-negotiable,” Rodgers said. “And then during the season, there were a lot of negotiations that were going on. Now during that negotiation, I don’t know if there was any current players on the (Executive Committee) involved in those negotiations. Somehow, from the meetings where no one wanted 17 games to the negotiations, 17 games got in there. By the time I was involved in the meeting in Indy, there wasn’t any movement opportunities from the owners on 17 games. That’s when I realized that we were definitely up against it.”

He’s not happy with what the players are getting in return for the 17th game.

“If you look at the deal, the players still get 47 percent [of league revenue] in the first year,” Rodgers said. “There are some ups in minimum [salaries, but] I just feel like and what I finished my long tweet with, when you know what your value is, you don’t settle for less than you’re worth. I just feel like we haven’t negotiated based on our value, which is we’re the product on the field. There was a lot of fear involved in the negotiation. In talking about what was negotiated, it’s a weird society now. It’s a weird situation that we’re in. I think a lot of people would rather just be told what to think instead of critically think for themselves. There’s been some great articles out there. J.C. Tretter put together a great checklist on the truths about the proposal. I don’t see how you can look at that objectively and say, ‘Yup, that’s what we’re worth. This is good enough.’ I’ve never thought that ‘good enough’ should be part of negotiations. It should be, ‘What’s our value?’ Let’s rest on that and let’s come to an agreement with the owners that’s beneficial for both sides and then let’s put together a CBA.”

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He’s not happy that former players aren’t gaining lifetime health care.

“Again, we don’t have lifetime health care,” Rodgers said. “I’ve seen a lot of former players talking about that. That obviously wasn’t one of the main things negotiated. The only player safety was this cutback in padded practices in training camp and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Training camp is already [significantly different than when I entered the league in 2005]. There’s no double-days.”

He’s not happy about the process.

“I go back to the 17th game,” he said. “The fact that that even got in there when, the guys that I talked to around the league, every meeting that was had before these negotiations really got amped up, nobody wanted 17 games. A lot of us are wondering how the hell that even got into the conversation, because nobody wanted it. …

“The point that I was trying to make in that meeting and as we talked to the PA afterward was, ‘Tell me what I can go back and tell my veteran players. What are we getting in return for this 17th game?’ To me, it just wasn’t substantial enough to go back and tell those young players and older players, ‘Hey, look, this is what you’re going to be getting.’ As we got in the process in Indy, I realized we were so far long. The owners had already voted on this. There was no more negotiations. It was, ‘This is the deal, take it or leave it.’”

He’s not happy about the lack of interaction he’s had with teammates.

“I sent out an e-mail to every player, based on the e-mail list I got from our player development guy, and got next to no responses,” Rodgers said. “So, I don’t know if guys look at it, if guys are interested in that. That’s probably the most disheartening thing is this is a society we live in now that’s so distracted by the swiping world of apps and social media. I don’t know. Do guys really care about this stuff? Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you look at it, for the people wanting to push this deal through so badly, that’s kind of a win because nobody’s critically looking at this or thinking about it. They’re just like, ‘Oh, what’s my salary going to be? Oh, OK, cool.’ Not like, ‘Are we taking care of former players? What kind of additional player risks are we taking on? What are we getting in return for that?’ That’s the issue that I’ve had.”

And he’s not happy about players who will vote “yes” in the self-interest of bigger paychecks.

“The young guys in the room as player reps and across the league might just look at us and say, ‘Oh, my minimum’s going up to this? Yeah, sure, I’ll sign that,’” Rodgers said. “Again, that’s what I think is one of the issues with these negotiations and with society in general. There’s not a lot of critical thinking going on. There was a ton of information out there. I sent out the large e-mail and you e-mail 73 guys. How many responses you think you’re getting back on this 2,000-word e-mail that goes out? You’d be really disappointed to hear the actual answer. That’s the problem. I think we just haven’t had a chance to look at this critically and it’s kind of been pushed through, pushed through, pushed through, pushed through, and it’s bullet-point highlights in quotations with this deal that’s like, ‘Well, no, that’s not the whole deal’ and also ‘understand what you’re signing and what this means for the future of this game.’ I’d like to hit the pause button but I’m not sure that’s even going to be a possibility. We’ll find out in a few days if this goes through or not.”