Another offseason continues for the Green Bay Packers and the Aaron Rodgers will he/wont storyline is also ongoing. This time it is about whether this will be his last year playing in the league. It’s a storyline that NFL fans will watch all year. Keyshawn Johnson thinks it isn’t the only story to watch with Rodgers.
On Tuesday, Rodgers did not say whether or not this will be his last season, but he did say he wants his career to end in Green Bay.
Over the last year, Rodgers has become one of the more polarizing athletes in the NFL. Could that change this year even if he is often in the headlines?
On Wednesday, Johnson said on Keyshawn, J-Will, and Max that Rodgers could look at the recent contract Tom Brady signed to join FOX after his playing career as what can happen if he becomes more likable:
“When you look at Aaron Rodgers right now, I like Aaron Rodgers. Six months ago, he annoyed the hell out of me. Right now, I like him. Six months from now, other people are going to like him. Six months after that, some more people are going to like him because Aaron Rodgers sees the benefits down the line of becoming a likable guy.”
“You know how many people disliked Tom Brady several years ago. People like Tom Brady now. Tom Brady just got $375 million on a 10-year deal from a television network. Aaron Rodgers wants to be in television. He ponied up and tried to get the Jeopardy job. Now, all of a sudden, he is in a position where he can be likeable and people will start to look at him differently. He knows that.”
Johnson used Brady as an example because while Brady was playing for the Patriots, he wasn’t liked by many. Now that he is in Tampa Bay, people view him a little differently.
“Star athletes that have reputations in the beginning to the middle of their careers change those reputations toward the end because they see some things, a light at the end of the tunnel, an opportunity. Tom Brady was a villain in New England. Tom Brady is no longer a villain. He changed his whole perception in about a two-year period of time to where people are like we can deal with this dude. I think Aaron Rodgers will get there in the next twelve months.”
Time will tell if Johnson is right with his prediction, but it’s safe to say Rodgers will be in the news plenty during the upcoming NFL season.