Aaron Rodgers has enraged ESPN executives after calling the network "gutless" during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, according to a source who spoke to the Daily Mail.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback made his long-awaited return to McAfee's show, which ESPN broadcasts daily and licenses from McAfee, appearing from the team's training camp. Rodgers criticized ESPN's handling of the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel affair scandal and launched into a rant calling Dr. Anthony Fauci a "coward" and a "criminal" over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While ESPN licenses McAfee's show, the network does not pay Rodgers for his appearances; McAfee pays for special guests like the Super Bowl winner out of his own pocket. Still, the sight of Rodgers criticizing ESPN on its own airwaves alarmed executives at the network's campus in Bristol, Connecticut. The Daily Mail was told ESPN is plotting to retaliate against Rodgers over the course of the coming season, which will be his last in the NFL.
ESPN weighs coverage plans
A source told the Daily Mail that ESPN executives are extremely unhappy with Rodgers following his comments and are now weighing how they want to handle coverage of his highlights during the upcoming season. The source said there is little desire internally to go out of the network's way to promote Rodgers, and any hope of repairing the relationship is considered virtually nonexistent.
The source added that if Rodgers ever wanted to pursue a career as a television analyst, ESPN would not be a realistic landing spot, and many within the company have little interest in working with him after his comments about the network and "politically charged nonsense."
Steelers' Super Bowl hopes complicate things
Rodgers has never expressed interest in moving into a broadcast booth once he retires after this final season with the Steelers. The 42-year-old quarterback would love to add a second Super Bowl title to the one he won with the Green Bay Packers in 2011. Next season's Super Bowl is scheduled for February 14 in Los Angeles and will be broadcast by ESPN, meaning a Rodgers appearance in the game could complicate the network's coverage.
The source said most people at ESPN are hoping the Steelers don't reach the Super Bowl. Having Rodgers in the game would create challenges around securing interviews and behind-the-scenes access given the tension between him and the network, the source said, adding that the concern isn't whether the broadcast could be handled professionally but that covering Rodgers "after such a public outburst would add an unnecessary layer of complexity." The source said the sooner the Steelers are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the better, and warned the situation "only has the chance to get worse, especially if Aaron opens his mouth again." ESPN declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail.
Steelers face tough schedule
The Steelers are considered outsiders to make a Super Bowl push this season. They have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2017 and play in a division with Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals and Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens. They also face the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and Vrabel's New England Patriots.
Rodgers on the Russini-Vrabel scandal
The Russini and Vrabel scandal dominated American sports media for weeks during the NFL's offseason, and Rodgers alleged that ESPN stopped its reporters from discussing it. "What are the network [ESPN] doing?" Rodgers said. "You have literally an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN that covers our league at the highest level, and there's a major scandal, and it's just like, nobody can f***ing talk about it? What are we even doing here?"
When McAfee's co-host, Boston Connor, countered that "personal lives are personal lives... I feel like you of all people should know that," Rodgers responded: "I understand, but if it's affecting certain things. If there's leaks going on, if there's tampering going on... if that person is also an MVP voter and a Coach of the Year voter? How are we allowing these people to have an impact?" Rodgers had told the show ahead of the segment, "I told these boys I was bringing it today!"
Rodgers targets Fauci, discusses family reunion
Rodgers, a longtime vaccine skeptic who was outspoken during the Covid-19 pandemic, criticized Fauci over his decision to repeatedly plead the fifth amendment during a hostile Senate hearing. The four-time NFL MVP also discussed his recent reunion with his family, but told McAfee and viewers it's "nobody's f***ing business."
In April, Rodgers invited his parents to his induction into the Pleasant Valley High School Hall of Fame. Last month, he shared Instagram photos documenting a "bonding week" in Nashville with his mother, Darla, father, Ed, brother, Luke, niece, Evie, and nephew, Jack. The reconciliation followed years of public distance between Rodgers and his family; the turning point came in 2023, when Rodgers reconnected with his father at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe for the first time in nearly nine years.
Rodgers said the reason for the schism and the reconciliation is "nobody's f***ing business," adding that he no longer posts much about it beyond photos from trips to Idaho and, before that, Malibu. "It's good to have a full circle, there's been a lot of full circles the past year," he said. "People don't know and they shouldn't know, it's none of their business. There's a lot of conjecture because I'm the darkness guy, I'm the Covid endangerer guy, I'm this and I'm that."
He said he cares even less than he used to about the criticism and does not plan to chase "weird-ass parties on the east coast" once he retires. "Especially when I get a chance to get after that gutless organization you have to be connected with," Rodgers said. "I just don't care any more. All I care about is getting out there on that field and playing my best ball."
