Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers said that he would not play until the age of 45 in the NFL. The oldest active player who plays in the NFL is Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Tom Brady, who celebrated his 45th birthday this week. But the record still belongs to former Chicago Bears’ quarterback George Blanda who retired at the age of 48.
During an interview on the same day when Brady celebrated his 45th birthday, Rodgers was asked if he is planning to do the same. He answered it quickly.
“No, I don’t,” he said, “But happy birthday, Tom.”
Rodgers will be turn 39 in December, admitting he would not play for another six seasons to match Brady’s milestone. In an interview with AtoZ Sports, he addressed his plan to stop playing.
“I think about it [retirement] all the time,” Rodgers said. “When you commit, you’re 100%. But the older you get, the interests change, and the grind, I think, wears on you a little more.”
In the same interview, Rodgers said that he is enjoying his time as a player. He also mentioned that Brady has set the standard so high for a player who played for such a long time.
“The football part is the easy part,” he added. “That’s the joy. It’s the other stuff that wears on you and makes you think about life after football. Tommy [Brady] obviously set the bar so high with playing so many years, but I can definitely see the end coming.”
Rodgers just signed a huge three-year, $150 million contract extension with the Packers this offseason, that is enough to keep playing for more years. But he also mentioned that there might be a change along the way regardless of the contract duration.
“I understand how the deal is portrayed,” the Californian said, via Packersnews.com. “To me, it was like a one-year, plus a two, plus a one. So there will be decisions after this year for sure.”
In a separate interview with ESPN, Rodgers doesn’t want to put a timeline on how many more years he could play at the high level.
“If you say I’m for sure playing two more, three years and then you have a magical season that ends with a championship and think that that might be the best way to ride off, I don’t want to commit to something,” he said.
“You say, I’m only playing one more year and you have a bitter taste in your mouth and still got the drive and the passion to play one or two more years, I just don’t want to get pigeonholed into it,” he continued.
Secret recipe
Alongside Brady, Rodgers is one of the top players who is still kicking off the ball in the NFL. He has been at the Packers for 17 years since his debut in 2005. He won the 2010 NFL, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl XLV.
On the Aubrey Marcus podcast, Rodgers shared one of the secrets behind his energetic performance despite entering his 40s in the coming years. He admitted using ayahuasca, a South American psychoactive brew, to maintain his playing level.
“To me, one of the core tenets of your mental health is that self-love,” Rodgers said.
For Rodgers, ayahuasca “helps” him see “how to unconditionally love” himself.
“It’s only in that unconditional self love, that then I’m able to truly be able to unconditionally love others. And what better way to work on my mental health than to have an experience like that?” Rodgers explained.