The ball is in Aaron Rodgers' court. The future Hall of Fame quarterback is mulling his options between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. But he's milking every last second of being a free agent for the first (and conceivably last) time.
Per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers have made a formal contract offer to Rodgers. However, the veteran signal-caller is reportedly "taking his good ol' time about making a decision." Why, you may ask? We're not entirely sure, but it has nothing to do with finances.
The hold-up for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers has nothing to do with money
Dulac states that Rodgers' dawdling over whether to join the Steelers "is not about money." But if that's the case, why hasn't the four-time NFL MVP put pen to paper yet?
Is Rodgers trying to spark a bidding war between the Steelers and the Giants? He's supposedly eyeing a massive contract, so it can't be ruled out. Although, it's unclear how playing the waiting game would fetch him more coin.
Does Rodgers even want to play football anymore? After all, he's 41 years old. Does he want to go through another rigorous offseason, or could his delayed choice be him pondering the possibility of hanging up the cleats?
As we've become accustomed to seeing, all eyes are on Rodgers. ESPN's Adam Schefter noted that the Giants and Steelers are "waiting to hear" from him, yet he's gone ghost. Meanwhile, he was caught taking a stroll at a beach in Malibu, alone, with headphones and a blanket, seemingly deep in thought.
While the sweepstakes for Rodgers' services is seemingly down to a two-horse race, perhaps he's trying to shoehorn the Minnesota Vikings into the discussion. Dianna Russini of The Athletic ($) said the aging gunslinger "is intrigued by the idea" of representing the NFC North runner-ups.
Regardless, this is all very on-brand for Rodgers. He beats to his own drum -- always has, always will. Moments like this highlight why the New York Jets were willing to absorb a $50 million cap hit to cut him this offseason. His overwhelming presence can be a distraction and a lot to handle, and the Steelers and Giants (plus the Vikings) are experiencing it first-hand.