As the football world speculated over Aaron Rodgers’ possibly signing with the Los Angeles Rams, a curious number kept resurfacing: $10 million. Reports suggested the four-time MVP was willing to play for that modest figure on a one-year deal—an eyebrow-raising discount in a market where elite quarterbacks rarely sign for anything less than double.
That figure came back into focus this week when Rodgers agreed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly worth $13.5 million, with $10 million guaranteed and an additional $6 million available via incentives. Still a bargain for a future Hall of Famer, but it raised a simple question: what happened to that $10 million number?
Aaron Rodgers Offered The Los Angeles Rams An Exclusive Discount
One explanation is straightforward—Pittsburgh sweetened the pot just enough to secure Rodgers’ signature, honoring the spirit of a team-friendly deal while recognizing his pedigree. But Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer offered a more nuanced take. According to Breer, that $10 million price tag may have been “sort of exclusive to the Rams”—a reflection not of Rodgers’ market value, but of his desire to return home.
A Northern California native, Malibu resident, and Cal alum, Rodgers had long been intrigued by the idea of finishing his career closer to home. In February, rumors swirled that he had zeroed in on the Los Angeles Rams, even hoping to reunite with former Packers teammate Davante Adams. Adams had already expressed interest in returning to the West Coast and reportedly had his eye on both the Rams and Chargers. It was a compelling vision: Rodgers and Adams, together again, operating in Sean McVay’s dynamic offense.
But the Rams had other plans. As Matthew Stafford quietly explored trade interest, the team ultimately chose to recommit to their Super Bowl-winning quarterback, agreeing to a restructured deal on February 28. Adams eventually landed in Los Angeles—but Rodgers did not.
So that $10 million figure? It wasn’t a universal offer. It was, perhaps, a targeted message: a willingness to make financial sacrifices for a perfect situation that never materialized. With the Rams closing their window, Rodgers pivoted to Pittsburgh—and still signed on for what amounts to a relatively frugal contract.
But Rodgers’ arrival in Pittsburgh also reopened a different line of questioning: Should the Steelers have chased Stafford harder?
That very topic came up on Friday’s edition of Unsportsmanlike, when Evan Cohen and former Super Bowl champion Chris Canty debated whether Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin may one day regret not pushing harder for Stafford months ago.
“It’s not like he wasn’t allowed to scream and yell and say, ‘Go get me Stafford,’” said Cohen, a longtime Tomlin supporter. “There had to have been, correct me if I’m wrong, there had to have been a price where the Rams would have said, ‘Sorry, Matt, we’re actually going to trade you; they just offered us two first-rounders and a second-rounder.’”
The idea isn’t far-fetched. The Rams ultimately received a 2025 first-round pick from the Falcons to move back into the draft on April 24, which adds context to what kind of return they might have demanded for Stafford. Had the Steelers been willing to pay that price and match or exceed the $100 million deal the New York Giants were reportedly prepared to offer, Los Angeles might have moved on. Instead, Stafford took less to stay in L.A. and chase another Super Bowl.
And had Pittsburgh pulled off a blockbuster for Stafford, it might’ve cleared a path for Rodgers to join Adams in L.A.—a fantasy football scenario that, while tantalizing, now only exists in the multiverse of “what-ifs.”
What is real, however, is Rodgers now wearing black and gold. And with that comes speculation about his role in the broader Steelers narrative. If Pittsburgh falters in 2025, does that put Mike Tomlin’s job in jeopardy?
Not necessarily.
“If Mike Tomlin is not going to be the Steelers coach anymore,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano said Friday, “I think that’s not going to be because of Aaron Rodgers. That would be because the organization decided it’s time, or he’s decided it’s time, or both.”
Graziano acknowledged that a poor season—missing the playoffs or suffering Tomlin’s first losing campaign—might force hard conversations. But Rodgers wouldn’t be the catalyst. Those discussions, he added, “would have been, anyway.”
Rodgers’ move to Pittsburgh may not be the Hollywood ending some imagined when he flirted with the Rams. But it’s a defining move nonetheless—for him, for Tomlin, and for two franchises that chose different paths in an offseason full of possibilities.
Subscribe to LAFB Network’s Los Angeles Rams YouTube Channel