ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Steelers are placing the right-of-first-refusal tender on QB Aaron Rodgers.
Schefter mentions Rodgers would get a 10 percent raise off last year’s $13,650,000 base salary to pay him about $15 million for the year. Pittsburgh now also has the right to match any offer sheet he might sign with another team.
Per Schefter, the league note said “The Steelers will receive exclusive negotiating rights for Rodgers if he does not sign by July 22, 2026 or the first scheduled day of the 2026 NFL training camp, whichever is later.”
Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney recently said Rodgers gave them a timeline and feels they will know if he’s playing this year soon. This tender can ensure Rodgers will play for Pittsburgh if he returns for year 22.
Rodgers, 42, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that included over $100 million guaranteed in 2018
Rodgers was owed a base salary of $25 million in the final year of his deal in 2022 when he agreed to a three-year, $150 million extension with $101 million of the deal guaranteed.
After one year, the Packers traded him to the Jets for a package that included a second-round pick in 2023 and a conditional 2024 second that could become a first.
He played just four snaps in 2023 before tearing his Achilles in Week 1, but returned as the Jets’ quarterback for the 2024 season. New York released him with a June 1 designation after the season.
He then went on to sign a one-year deal with the Steelers.
In 2025, Rodgers appeared in 16 games for the Steelers and completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
We’ll have more on the Steelers and Rodgers as the news is available.
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