The Pittsburgh Steelers had been waiting for this domino to fall.
And they were far from the only members of the NFL world keeping close eyes on Aaron Rodgers’ next move.
On Thursday, Rodgers’ roughly three-month dalliance with free agency came to end. The four-time MVP quarterback and Steelers agreed to a one-year deal pending a physical, the team confirmed, with the expectation that Rodgers will report to Pittsburgh ahead of the Steelers’ mandatory minicamp next week.
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The ramifications of this budding marriage ripple broadly for players, coaches, league executives and more in the NFL. Who comes out ahead? Here are our Yahoo Sports winners and losers as Aaron Rodgers prepares to sign with the Steelers:
Winners
The NFL schedule makers
NFL vice president of broadcasting and scheduling Mike North and his team faced a challenge when compiling the 2025 NFL schedule: Should they create a schedule with the expectation Rodgers signs with the Steelers and risk underwhelming prime-time games, or should they operate based on existing rosters and potentially bury prestige matchups? They did the former, and their bet pays off. Rodgers is now slated to play his first game in a Steelers uniform against the New York Jets team that discarded him this offseason. And Oct. 26 on Monday Night Football, the Steelers will host the only NFL club Rodgers hasn’t yet played against: the Green Bay Packers he represented for 18 years. North has reason to toast.
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Mike Tomlin, the coach
Mike Tomlin’s Super Bowl championship and two AFC titles will one day be headlines in his Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy. But expect the committee to discuss not only Tomlin’s ceiling but also his floor. Tomlin has remarkably never coached a losing season in 18 years at the Pittsburgh helm. Rodgers should help extend that trend as a clear upgrade over OTAs leader Mason Rudolph. Even at 41 years old, Rodgers is coming off a 3,897-yard, 28-touchdown campaign with a spiraling…
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