The relationship between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has occupied the spotlight for more than a decade. The link between the two has been fascinating.
Brett Favre was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers when the team drafted up and coming sensation Rodgers back in 2005. At this point, one could say that Favre was in the tail end of his peak being in the league for quite some time already. The 3-time MVP was already playing his 14th professional year in the league bringing the Packers to the Super Bowl twice and winning it all in Super Bowl XXXI back in 1997.
Rodgers, on the other hand, was a rising star. After being initially overlooked at the start of his collegiate football career, Rodgers played two strong years for University of California, setting school records and eventually catching the eye of the league. The quarterback chose to skip his last year of eligibility with the Golden Bears and decided to join the 2005 NFL draft. Rodgers was drafted by the Green Bay Packers as the 24th overall pick.
It would seem that the Packers front office had the ideal landscape set-up for the next chapter of their franchise; a tested vet grooming a rising star. Unfortunately, egos came into play and an apparent power struggle was virtually in effect. Favre went on the record in 2005 saying that mentoring the young Rodgers wasn't part of his responsibility.
“My contract doesn’t say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play. Now, hopefully, he watches me and gets something from that,” the starting QB told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It seemed that Brett Favre wasn't going to pass the torch to the youngin just like that.
The two went on to play side by side for three seasons and the organization eventually decided to move on from Brett Favre at the end of the 2007 season and went all-in with Rodgers from then on. In the 2008 season, the young California-native was off to a spectacular start as the team's main gun. Rodgers had 157 consecutive passes without an interception in his first four weeks as a starter which was the third-longest streak in the franchise's history.
With Brett Favre taking a different turn in his career, Rodgers solidified his future: In October 2008, Rodgers signed a six-year, $65 million extension to his contract that would take him all the way to the 2014 season. A seemingly smart investment by the Packers with Rodgers claiming two NFL MVP nods (2011 and 2014) and of course winning Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 in that six-year span.
After almost fifteen years since they first shared a locker room, it seems as though Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have finally buried the hatchet.
Rodgers cleared things at the Pat McAfee show late last year by saying, “I love Brett, I always had a great appreciation for him but we were caught in the middle of a power struggle that unfortunately broke apart Brett and the Packers and Brett and myself.”
This only goes to show that the tension between the two was more external rather than internal. They were basically two star quarterbacks at different chapters of their career who were pitted against each other. Rodgers even accepted the “Moment of the Year” award in 2018 which was presented by his “new friend” Brett Favre.
He went on by referring to Brett Favre as his mentor and as someone who he looked up to. Nothing but love and admiration between the two
The relationship between the two looks to have come in full circle after the recent NFL Draft just last week. The Green Bay Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round, a young quarterback from Utah State. A move that says that the team is again looking at the future given that Rodgers is still in the middle of his contract, signing a four-year extension back in 2018.
The retired Brett Favre chimed in and didn't hesitate to show some disdain to his former team's draft decision.
In an appearance at The Rich Eisen Show, the former MVP said, “They don't draft any weapons that can help immediately, to my knowledge. That sends a disrespect(ful) message to Aaron Rodgers. He has every right to be disappointed, if he is.”
He explained how he was “very surprised” by the team's pick, given that the draft class was packed with wide receivers.
More from Brett Favre:
“I thought they'd go in the direction of an offensive weapon. Nothing against Jordan Love. But you trade up to get more of a project. He can't help you get to the Super Bowl immediately.”
Brett Favre said that the Packers have burned a bridge with their current QB starter:
“I think that Aaron will finish somewhere else, that’s my gut.”
Is he speaking facts? It is hard to say otherwise given that the 2016 Hall of Famer is just speaking from his experience, especially with Rodgers being in the exact same position he was in back in 2005. I guess father time healed all the wounds between these two legends.
Follow Us
Subscribe