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18 Years, Millions of Dollars and Undying Loyalty Not Enough in Front of Malibu Mistake that Acted as “Last Straw” for Aaron Rodgers

Published 06/01/2023, 9:43 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have a very long saga. From back to his draft days, the Packers gave him his first big break in the NFL. Since he came to the NFL, he has been with the Green Bay Packers for more than a decade. However, all of this has changed with Rodgers leaving the Packers and heading down to the Jets in the recent off-season happenings. While there had been a lot of reasons leading up to it, there was an interesting immediate reason.

On the ‘Rich Eisen Show’, a popular reporter went on to discuss what he covered as the tipping point for Rodgers’ move to the Jets. Interestingly, there were mentions of Rodgers’ conflict with a member of the management that sparked the flame of his departure.

The ‘last straw’ for Aaron Rodgers leaving Green Bay

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While on the Rich Eisen Show, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman spoke about Rodgers’ departure from Green Bay. While there had been rumors about his departure for over 2 years, they seemed far-fetched. After all, Rodgers has been the star of Wisconsin for almost two decades. He has been loyal to the Packers for the longest time. Therefore, it was a huge upset when Rodgers finally announced his leave. And Schneidman explained what was Rodgers’ tipping point.

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While on the show, Schneidman explained that there was a sort of misunderstanding between Rodgers and his GM, Brian Gutenkunst. Apparently, the two were supposed to meet up when the GM flew to California for recruitment purposes. Interestingly, Rodgers was staying in Malibu at the time. There were plans made between the two to meet up which Rodgers didn’t fulfill, citing an undisclosed reason.

After bailing on older plans, Rodgers reportedly made it clear that he would like to meet up as well, but alas, the GM did not get back to Rodgers. As per the Athletic reporter, this was the tipping point for Rodgers. He even said, “Their disconnect and their inability to connect isn’t the only reason they traded him certainly not um that’s why I covered a couple of years in my story but I think it was more of a last straw.” 

Sadly, this is not the first time there has been news about the conflict between Rodgers and his ex-GM. There have been tussles between Rodgers and Gutenkunst before.

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The Gutenkunst-Rodgers rumble

It seems like Rodgers has had a problem with his ex-GM for quite a while. Some of the problems stemmed from the organization’s decisions in terms of drafting players like Jordan Love. In 2021, the Packers went on to use their first-round draft pick to forgo drafting any help for Rodgers. Instead, they went on to pick Jordan Love, Rodgers’ potential successor. This reportedly led Rodgers’ agent, David Dunn to demand Gutenkunst be fired. This also stemmed from the fact that the decision to bring in Love was showcased as Gutenkunst’s decision alone. All in all, the string of incidents between the two has not contributed to a good relationship.

USA Today via Reuters

In the end, these incidents and them being Rodgers’ reasons for leaving can only be chalked up to speculation. It only remains to be seen if Rodgers will ever confirm the reason for him leaving the team that gave him his big break in the NFL.

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Watch this story: “I Will Love Again”: Aaron Rodgers’ Former Flame Unearths The Feeling of Falling in Love Again

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Written by:

Aditya Rajput

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Aditya Rajput is a prime-time NFL writer at EssentiallySports, bringing his unique perspective to the world of football. With a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Advertising from a prestigious university, Rajput uses his expertise in human behavior and decision-making to provide insightful analysis of the motivations and strategies of NFL athletes. Rajput is a passionate sports enthusiast who is particularly drawn to the legacy of Tom Brady, whom he considers to be the greatest quarterback in history.
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