NFL

Study In Selfishness: Aaron Rodgers’ Most Self-Centered Acts

Darren Ryding - July 23, 2024
NFL

Study In Selfishness: Aaron Rodgers’ Most Self-Centered Acts

Darren Ryding - July 23, 2024

It’s one hundred percent true that Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks of the modern NFL. But despite that, he polarizes the masses in a big way. That’s because of his controversial views and his bizarre actions on and off the field. Today we’ll look at the time that Rodgers acted selfishly and disrespectfully throughout his life.

We’re talking about all of his crazy contract situations during his Packers’ tenure. We’ll also look at his life away from football and what this says about his career. Let’s just say that Shailene Woodley probably has a lot of regrets about the time she spent with the four-time NFL MVP. Let’s get started.

Yardbreaker

No Vaccine

One of the dumbest parts of Rodgers’ recent career was when he pretended to get vaccinated. The NFL required all active players to undergo immunization during the global health crisis. Then the news broke that Rodgers lied about his status and derailed his public image. Many people felt that Rodgers acted selfishly because he put vulnerable people at risk.

NBC Sports

Rodgers told Joe Rogan: “I had come to the conclusion that I was going to say, ‘I’ve been immunized’. I thought there was a possibility that they didn’t follow up.” Astonishingly, he thought that he could get away with this. This type of self-entitlement is typical of his recent behavior (via Us Magazine).

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New York Post

The Jets Shenanigans

Rodgers has spent the entire 2023 offseason flirting with the Jets. Everybody knew that he was probably going to join “Gang Green,” but Rodgers has a bad reputation. We saw how he lured Denver into a false sense of security and made them think that he was moving to the Mile High City. He acted selfishly and manipulated Green Bay into offering him a bigger payday.

Sports Illustrated

The reality is that Rodgers will burn the Jets if it works out best for him. He acted selfishly many times in contract situations because he wants the best deal possible. This is normal because players want to maximize their earnings. But Rodgers takes it to another level because he doesn’t care about hurting his teammates (via The Mirror).

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Bleacher Report

Greg Jennings

Jennings is another former Green Bay star who doesn’t respect Rodgers. He resents the quarterback because he tried to trade him in the middle of a game against the Niners. Jennings developed a tense relationship with Rodgers and said that the QB threw tantrums instead of offering constructive criticism.

New York Post

Meanwhile, Jennings doesn’t respect the way that Rodgers handled contract negotiations. He said: “Aaron Rodgers has been a very selfish guy, like period. I get it, he’s at the end of his career, and so it’s like ‘okay I’m going to take whatever I can take.’ But, you can’t do that, and want to win (via Forbes).”

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Larry Brown Sports

Self-Proclamation

In 2021, Rodgers called the Pat McAfee Show and pontificated about body autonomy. He almost admitted that he lied to the public and said that he was taking responsibility for his actions. Meanwhile, although he effectively admitted that he acted selfishly, he didn’t apologize for misleading the world.

CNN

Instead, he acknowledged what he did without showing regret. This is typical of Rodgers but he should remember that pride is a cardinal sin. “I shared an opinion that is polarizing, and I misled some people about my status,” Rodgers said. “But, in the end, I have to stay true to who I am and what I’m about, and I stand behind the things that I said (via The New Yorker).”

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Acme Packing Company

The 9/11 Question

Allegedly, Rodgers has doubts about the authenticity of 9/11. That’s according to former teammate DeShone Kizer, who appeared on The Breneman Show. Kizer said that the first thing the quarterback said to him was shocking (via People). He revealed: “We shut the door and the first thing that comes out of Aaron Rodgers’ mouth was ‘Do you believe in 9/11?'”

NFL.com

Next, Rodgers reportedly told Kizer to ‘read up on that.’ This offended many people because it was a tragic epoch in American history. Thousands of people lost their lives in the terrorist attack and the Middle East conflicts that came after. But Rodgers thinks that he knows better because he read some crazy conspiracy theories.

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Fox News

Jordan Love

Allegedly, Rodgers blew up when the Packers drafted Jordan Love in 2021. Green Bay stunned the world when they took the Utah State QB in the first round because they already had an elite starter. However, recent events show that they predicted complications with Rodgers’ contract situation.

CBS Sports

“I think the general reaction at first was surprise, like many people,” Rodgers said (via Sporting News). “Obviously I’m not going to say that I was, you know, thrilled by the pick necessarily, but the organization is thinking not only about the present but about the future. And I respect that.”

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AP

The Denver Honeytrap

In 2022, the Denver Broncos tried their utmost to lure Rodgers to Colorado. In the end, they failed and settled for Russell Wilson. This was a disaster because the former Seahawks star had the worst season of his career. Meanwhile, Rodgers acted selfishly because he manipulated Green Bay using the Broncos’ interest (via Denver Sports).

Yardbreaker

One NFL executive revealed that Denver desperately wanted Rodgers and gave up too much for Russell. They said: “Aaron Rodgers, I could understand giving up that sort of package, but not Russell. Denver didn’t have any familiarity with the player or his fit in the system, and he’s declining as an aging, smaller quarterback.”

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New York Magazine

Content-Stealing Site

One of the quarterback’s strangest recent actions was creating a sports content-sharing website. Online Sports Database is a site that in theory provides extensive sports information. However, it appears as though they added a bunch of articles from Wikipedia as well as other sports websites (via Defector).

NFL.com

Deadspin reached out to Online Sports Database after the latter shared an exact copy of their article without permission. However, they didn’t receive a response and nothing happened. This was extremely bad practice because it didn’t credit the original author and stole their work. Rodgers is a co-owner so he has some responsibility for their actions.

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Sky Sports

MVP King

Many of Rodgers’ contemporaries don’t respect his attitude toward football. Legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski thinks that the QB acted selfishly and lacks ambition. He criticized an interview where Rodgers said that he wants another MVP award. The Patriots icon thinks that Rodgers should focus on winning a Super Bowl rather than individual accolades.

People

Gronk said: “I’m totally fine with everything he said, except one major part. And that’s the ‘MVP again. It’s just that I think, ‘I could win another Super Bowl,’ and that would have been fine. Like, bro, why are you thinking MVP? Don’t you want Super Bowls? Like Super Bowls are, I think, five times greater than an MVP award (via Sports Illustrated).”

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People

Shailene Woodley

Rodgers moved into a relationship with Woodley soon after he broke up with Danica Patrick. The pair spent lockdown together so Woodley probably deserves a medal. Amazingly, the two of them survived together for so long because they’re very different people. They even agreed to get married but it all ended in tears.

Newsweek

Allegedly, Rodgers acted selfishly and put his career before their relationship. Remember, Woodley is a high-earning Hollywood star so he wasn’t the sole breadwinner. An insider told Nicki Swift: “While Shailene is supportive of Aaron’s career, he put football first and they were barely spending any time together. She felt he neglected their relationship. Neither of them was happy.”

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CBS Sports

Rookie Rant

Rodgers attracted attention in 2022 after he shredded his receiver room. He found himself throwing to inexperienced rookies and lost patience with them. Many critics thought that it was fair because they were making the step up and should be more consistent. However, others thought it was harsh and that he should take more responsibility.

NBC Sports

“The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent,” Rodgers said (via ESPN). “A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area.” The reality was somewhere in the middle because everybody should have stepped up.

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Forbes

Packers Contract

Many Green Bay fans lost respect for Rodgers after his recent contract disputes. The franchise gave him everything because they recognized his brilliance. Meanwhile, the fanbase adored their quarterback and supported him throughout everything. But he acted selfishly and showed that he didn’t care about them.

Acme Packing Company

Maybe that’s true about every sports star but he could at least pretend that he appreciates them. He burnt bridges with the franchise in 2023 when he said he was moving to New York. But he lit the fuse earlier and annoyed everybody with his antics. It’s a shame because they held him in high regard before this (via NBC Sports).

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Bleacher Report

The GM Report

Former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum said Rodgers acted selfishly during his contract negotiations. That’s because he believes that the quarterback knows what he’s going to do. However, franchises must work within a salary cap and this affects other players. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst can’t extend other contracts while he’s waiting on Rodgers.

NJ.com

Tannenbaum shredded Rodgers in an appearance on Get Up Wednesday. He said: “Aaron Rodgers is being selfish. Let’s make no mistake about it, he is being very selfish. Because he’s known for a while what he’s going to do.” It’s safe to say that there’s no love lost between these two men (via Sports Illustrated).

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AP News

Za’Darius Smith

Rodgers’ former Green Bay teammate Smith has no respect for him. The linebacker quit the Packers in 2022 and joined one of their biggest rivals. But he has no regrets because he was happy to face the polarizing quarterback. He felt that the franchise acted selfishly by bowing to Rodgers’ demands instead of caring about other players.

AP News

Smith said: “I put my all into it. That’s why I felt the way I did with Green Bay: I gave that s**t, my all. I put my blood, sweat… I put my back on the f***ing line. And in Year Three, I was treated badly. That’s why I’m here now. So, I can play them twice a year.” It’s safe to say he won’t be sending Christmas cards to Rodgers this year (via CBS News).

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CNN

The Critical Thinker

One of the most laughable moments of Rodgers’ career came when he discussed the reasons why he didn’t undergo vaccination during the global health crisis. He believed that he knew better than medical experts because he is a ‘critical thinker.’ Instead, he acted selfishly because he was not a genius and throws a ball for a living.

CNN

“I am somebody who’s a critical thinker. You guys know me, I march to the beat of my own drum. I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke culture, or crazed, you know, group of individuals who say you have to do something (via Milwaukee Record).”

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AP News

Ayahuasca Experiences

Rodgers credits his recent experiences with Ayahuasca with self-growth. The quarterback attracted attention with a series of trips to South America. Some people worried that he violated NFL drug policies but this wasn’t the case. However, it may explain why he acted selfishly on and off the field because now he focuses on himself.

Marca

The quarterback told NBC: “Most of the work was around me, and figuring out what unconditional love of myself looks like of myself. In doing that, allowing me to understand how to unconditionally love other people but first realizing it’s gotta start with myself (via The Guardian).”

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AP

Chip on His Shoulder

One of Rodgers’ former teammates said that Rodgers had a tense relationship with former head coach Mike McCarthy. They won a Super Bowl together but they didn’t always see eye to eye. Former running back Ryan Grant said that Rodgers hated McCarthy because the coach once thought that Alex Smith had a higher upside (via The Athletic).

WISC News

Grant said: “Aaron’s always had a chip on his shoulder with Mike. “The guy who ended up becoming your coach passed on you when he had a chance. Aaron was upset that Mike passed on him—that Mike actually verbally said that Alex Smith was a better quarterback.” This is dumb because everybody makes mistakes and Rodgers proved him wrong.

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New York Post

Danica Patrick

It says a lot about Rodgers that he focuses on himself more than his partner in a relationship. After he ended his time with NASCAR trailblazer Patrick, he revealed what he gained from it. But he didn’t think about the things that he could have done better or why they broke up (via People).

Sporting News

In one interview with Aubrey Marcus, Rodgers focused on the positives. He said: “I was dating Danica and that relationship was great for me because she is on her own journey and spirituality is important to her. We both were finding our way, learning about different things, and practicing meditation techniques.”

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The Hollywood Reporter

Sharpe Rebuke

Shannon Sharpe is another NFL legend who doesn’t have much respect for Rodgers. He doesn’t appreciate the way the talented quarterback blames everybody else for on-field problems. The former Denver icon called out Rodgers after he acted selfishly in 2022. He didn’t hold back with his rebukes because he felt somebody had to say it.

The US Sun

Sharpe said: “It’s always somebody else’s fault and it’s always publicly somebody else’s fault. And he is the master of on-field finger-pointing in which he throws various receivers under the bus just with his mere body language.” Nobody can deny that Rodgers doesn’t whine or moan when things aren’t going his way (via Sportskeeda).

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CBS Sports

Darkness Retreat

Most elite athletes talk to their agents or managers when they’re considering their future. However, Rodgers has a different perspective because he goes on darkness retreats. We’re not sure if this is the most productive way to fix things but Rodgers is an interesting cat. Many of his teammates allegedly can’t believe that this is how he handles business.

AP

Rodgers told Pat McAfee (via ESPN): “That’s why it’s going to be important to get through this week and to take my isolation retreat and just to be able to contemplate all things my future and then be able to make a decision that I think is best for me moving forward and in the highest interest of my happiness and then move forward.”

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AP

Selfish Teammate

There are many times when Rodgers acted selfishly but the worst affect his teammates. One unnamed former NFL GM told Fansided that the quarterback’s teammates dislike him because of his antics. The explosive account attracted lots of attention because of Rodgers’ profile. Unfortunately, it was also easy to believe that it was true.

ESPN

The former GM said: “The guy’s selfish. His teammates don’t like him and his coaches don’t like him. It’s all about Aaron.“They all deal with him because he’s a superstar. He helps guys make money and put food on the table for their kids, and people respect him for that.” This is a damning indictment of Rodgers’ character but it seems to be accurate.

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