The Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers finally ended the NFL’s longest-running soap opera this offseason when the two parties agreed to a one-year deal this week to make the four-time MVP the franchise’s next quarterback.

Rodgers signed for $13.65 million and has the potential to earn about $6 million more in incentives, but one interesting note came out after the deal was finalized as ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared that Rodgers wasn’t exactly the Steelers’ first choice.

Schefter shared recently that Rodgers was Pittsburgh’s third option this offseason behind re-signing Justin Fields or trading for Matthew Stafford.

Per Adam Schefter, Aaron Rodgers was the Steelers 3rd QB option. It was Justin Fields and Matthew Stafford ahead of Rodgers. #Steelers #NFL

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) June 7, 2025

It makes sense that Stafford would be the top option, as he is likely better than Rodgers at this point in their respective careers, but it’s surprising to hear that the Steelers wanted to keep Fields that badly.

Fields signed a two-year deal with the New York Jets rather quickly after the free-agency period started, while Rodgers hung around, floating the idea that he could retire.

As teams around the league landed their quarterbacks and took themselves out of the running to sign Rodgers one by one, it became clear after the draft that Rodgers was either going to be a Steeler or he was going to have to wait until training camp for someone to get hurt to clear a path for him to start somewhere.

This is probably Rodgers’ last shot at a Super Bowl.

If things crash and burn again like they did with the Jets last season, it could be for him in the NFL.

Being a third option is never fun, but there’s a roadmap where this grows into an extremely beneficial relationship for both parties.

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