As Aaron Rodgers has become a future Hall of Famer who won four MVP awards and earned 10 Pro Bowl selections, his career has also been overshadowed by drama in a variety of areas.
Here are some of those controversies as Rodgers decides on the next stage of his NFL career:
The vaccine controversy
When reporters asked about his COVID-19 vaccination status in August 2021, Rodgers replied by saying he was “immunized.”
But when Rodgers tested positive three months later, it became clear that he was unvaccinated — and, as he later admitted, misled reporters.
Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he underwent an alternative treatment because the quarterback was allergic to an ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations, and he didn’t want to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccination due to reported side effects.
Aaron Rodgers Getty Images
The back-and-forth about the future
For the past two offseasons, speculation has swirled about Rodgers’ next step.
He ended his press conference following the Packers’ season-ending loss in January 2021 by saying “there’s a lot of unknowns going into the offseason.”
A similar sentiment followed the next year when the Packers suffered a stunning loss to the 49ers in the NFC divisional round.
That offseason, Rodgers signed a three-year extension, but that didn’t cause the uncertainty to stop.
When Green Bay’s 2022 campaign ended without a postseason berth, both Rodgers and the Packers’ front office echoed the quarterback’s need for time and space to make a final decision.
Highly publicized relationships
From Danica Patrick and Olivia Munn to Shailene Woodley and Blu, Rodgers has been involved in his share of high-profile relationships that haven’t seemed to end well.
Blu generated headlines by refuting the fact that her name is “Blu of Earth” — adding that she’s not a witch.
Woodley said in an interview that her “personal life was s—ty” following her split from Rodgers, after the pair had been engaged.
Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens, was also linked to Rodgers in January.
Split from family
Though Rodgers hasn’t commented much on this topic, others in his life, including Munn, have weighed in on how fame has caused a split from — or strained relationships with — his family.
His father, Ed, told the New York Times in 2017 that “fame can change things,” while reportedly confirming a Bleacher Report story from the previous year that said Rodgers had cut off certain members of his family.
But Rodgers said in an August 2022 podcast appearance that he does “believe in healing and I believe in the possibility of reconciliation at some point.”
Ayahuasca usage
Rodgers said in August 2022 that the use of psychedelic drugs helped lead to the “best season” of his NFL career and helped the quarterback to “unconditionally love myself.”
And just last month, in an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” he said that he’ll likely revisit the use of ayahuasca, which is a psychoactive tea with DMT, a hallucinogenic drug, during the offseason.