Four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers confirmed Wednesday he’d agreed to a reworked contract with the New York Jets, where the 39-year-old expects to play more than one season.
“The team gave up significant pieces for it to just be a one-year deal,” Rodgers, who will turn 40 on December 2, told reporters at Jets training camp.
“I think there was an awareness of that. I’m aware of that. Now, again, anything can happen with my body or with the success we have this year. But I’m having a blast so I don’t really see this as a one-year and done thing.”
Rodgers said he’d worked hard on his fitness in an effort to make sure his playing days extend through his 40th birthday.
“I think being a 40-year-old starter was a goal because that’s a big number,” he said. “To put yourself in that position you have to take care of yourself in the offseason. So I adjusted some things with that goal in mind.
“I dedicated myself to a little more flexibility this offseason. My diet has helped with some of the inflammation regression in my body.”
In addition, Rodgers noted, he still has “some assets” such as “a pretty good pump fake” and the ability to throw both ways on the run.
The Jets acquired Rodgers in April in a trade that ended his 18-year tenure with the Green Bay Packers, who made him the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL draft.
He started for the Packers for 15 seasons and capped the 2010 season with a Super Bowl triumph.
Rodgers arrived in New York with two years remaining on a contract that would have cost the Jets $107.6 million in 2024 prior to the restructuring.
He did not go into specifics on the terms of the new deal but said he was enjoying the transition to a team that hopes his arrival can see them end the NFL’s longest playoff drought at 12 years.
“Change can be difficult, for sure, especially when it’s that drastic — 18 years in one spot,” Rodgers said. “If you can lean into it and embrace it, there’s some really beautiful things on the other side.
“I’m just having a hell of a time,” he said.
