Aaron Rodgers Gets Deadline from Steelers Owner to Make Decision on Returning or Retirement

Aaron Rodgers. Credit: Joe Sargent/Getty NEED TO KNOW Steelers owner Art Rooney II is giving Aaron Rodgers just a few more weeks to decide on his NFL future The 42-year-old quarterback is weighing returning for a 22nd season or retirement If Rodgers returns to the Steelers, it will be with a new head coach after the team fired Mike Tomlin The countdown is on. Aaron Rodgers has yet to make a decision about a potential return to the NFL for a 22nd season after his one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers ended in March, and now the team's owner is suggesting a deadline for the 42-year-old quarterback to make up his mind.

Art Rooney II, whose been at the Steelers' helm since 2003, told ESPN at the Annual League Meeting that he hasn't been in contact with the Super Bowl winner himself, but he predicts a verdict is approaching. Aaron Rodgers #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Credit: Joe Sargent/Getty "I have not talked to [Aaron].

Coach [Mike McCarthy] has been in contact with him pretty regularly," the Steelers' owner said of Rodgers on Tuesday, March 31. "I think a decision is coming soon. " Rooney then shared a timeline on when he'd "expect" a decision from Rodgers.

"I would say by the draft I would expect an answer," he told ESPN, referencing the 2026 NFL Draft that begins on April 23. Take PEOPLE with you! Subscribe to PEOPLE magazine to get the latest details on celebrity news, exclusive royal updates, how-it-happened true crime stories and more — right to your mailbox.