Aaron Rodgers on Packers' future: If it can happen to Brett Favre, it can happen to you
Brett Favre spent 16 years as the Packers' starting quarterback. He went 160-93 in that time and led the team to 11 playoff appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and one Lombardi Trophy. But after the 2007 season, the Packers were prepared to move on without Favre, who was then 38, and turn the offense over to 2005 first-round pick Aaron Rodgers.
Favre announced his retirement in March 2008, but by July he was talking with the Packers about a possible return. Things deteriorated between the quarterback and the club and by August, Favre had been traded to the Jets.
History isn't lost on Rodgers, now 34 and entering his 14th season. The quarterback said this week that he would love to play into his 40s like Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (and, incidentally, Favre before them). But Rodgers is also well aware that, unlike Brady, he may not have the luxury of spending his entire career with one team.
"I think you have to be humble enough to realize if it could happen to Brett, it can happen to you," Rodgers told the Associated Press.
Rodgers' 2017 season was cut short after he suffered a broken collarbone in mid-October. He appeared in one other game, two months later, before going on injured reserve. But in 2016, when he made 16 starts, Rodgers ranked No. 6 in total value among all passers, according to Football Outsiders, and is widely considered among the NFL's top-five quarterbacks.
But at one time, Favre was too.
Rodgers has two years left on his contract, which will pay him a base salary of $19.8 million in 2018 and $20 million in 2019. He'll be 36 when his current deal expires, but with more quarterbacks than ever having success into their mid-30s and beyond -- and with the Packers currently having no life-after-Rodgers contingency plan -- it's hard to imagine he won't be in Green Bay for the foreseeable future.