Steelers give in to Aaron Rodgers demands with right-of-first-refusal tender

For a brief moment, it felt as if the Pittsburgh Steelers were ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers after all. They used a third-round pick on Drew Allar, adding him to a quarterback room already consisting of Will Howard and Mason Rudolph. Based on Adam Schefter's latest, though, the Steelers appear as eager as ever to re-sign the future Hall of Famer.

The Steelers placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Rodgers, which Schefter says is very rare. Here's how said tender works.

What is the right of first refusal tender?

Schefter outlines what this tender is rather clearly. Essentially, Rodgers earns a 10 percent raise based on last year's salary (which for him would be around $15 million) and the Steelers would earn the right to match any deal Rodgers were to ink with another team. Something Schefter also noted in his tweet is that Rodgers would only be able to sign with the Steelers once training camp begins.

Essentially, Rodgers gets a slight pay increase and a chance to wait as long as he wants to sign a deal with a team, and in exchange, the Steelers get as close to exclusive rights as a team can get to sign an unrestricted free agent. Rodgers can only land elsewhere if the Steelers let him, and that can only happen before training camp.

Both sides seemingly get exactly what they want with this deal. Rodgers gets more money and the opportunity to drag things out even longer, while the Steelers ensure they won't lose him to another team, assuming he decides he wants to play in the 2026 season.

Aaron Rodgers remains undefeated in negotiations

It's hard to come out of this with an opinion that isn't one praising Aaron Rodgers' ability to negotiate. Despite seemingly having no leverage, he consistently gets exactly what he wants. I mean, how many players can get away with some of the things he's done?

In the 2022 offseason, Rodgers embarked on a "darkness retreat" before eventually being traded to the New York Jets, the outcome he wanted. In the 2024 offseason, despite everyone knowing the eventual outcome, Rodgers waited until June to sign with the Steelers, his destination of choice. Now, he's taking his sweet time once again.

It's one thing for Rodgers to get away with these shenanigans in the middle of his prime, but NFL teams are willingly letting Rodgers have complete control of situations even though he's a 42-year-old average-at-best quarterback right now.

Steelers can't quit Aaron Rodgers for reasons only they can explain

Why this is the case, I have no idea. I don't understand the need the Steelers feel to re-sign Rodgers to begin with, but to go this far? I cannot explain it. Do the Steelers actually think there's even a slight chance Rodgers will sign elsewhere? Even if there was, why wouldn't they be okay with that?

Rodgers is fine, but as the Steelers just saw, he isn't going to guide the team to a Super Bowl. Why are the Steelers so interested in being a mediocre team that will, at best, lose in the Wild Card Round again, instead of simply turning to a young quarterback?

Had the Steelers started Allar or Howard, the result would've been either finding their quarterback of the future or being in a better position to draft their quarterback of the future. Killing time to be mediocre with a 42-year-old is a decision that teams that are comfortable in the middle make, and the middle is the worst place to be in sports.

I don't blame the Steelers for prioritizing Rodgers, knowing he's the best quarterback available right now, but giving him every single thing he wants, including the ability to wait until training camp to sign, is pretty ridiculous.

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