Things are starting to heat up in chilly Wisconsin, as reports emerged that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers does not want to play for the team next season.  

Mike Tirico of NBC Sports hosted the network’s coverage on the Kentucky Derby and spoke to Rodgers, who was in attendance at the event. Rodgers did not want to be interviewed and mentioned to Tirico that he was disappointed that news of the rift with the organization has come out, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports. 

“He expressed a couple of times how much he loves Green Bay, loves the fans, loves the franchise,” Tirico remarked. “There is a fissure. There is a chasm between management and the reigning NFL MVP.”

The biggest takeaway from Tirico's story is that Aaron Rodgers did not deny the reports, despite the use of strong terms like fissure and chasm.  

One indicator of how well a team's relationship is with a player is if the said player does not disclose publicly their desire to leave the team. Once other teams know that a player wants out, that player's trade value drops and the team loses some leverage in trade negotiations. 

Of course, Rodgers is on a whole other level compared to other stars, so the Packers should get quite a haul for him–but now the sharks smell blood in the water. Rodgers has been the face of the franchise for years and though he is getting up in age, he shows no signs of slowing down. 

Regardless of what Green Bay gets if Rodgers leaves, the Packers will be in jeopardy.