OPINION
‘I was at fault’ – Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre ruined their NFL careers thinking they were too good for Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers is getting blasted by Terry Bradshaw and told to ‘chew on bark.’
Brett Favre is currently more famous for a blistering anti-Favre Netflix documentary than anything that the Hall of Fame quarterback ever did on the football field.
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In 2025, it’s harder than ever to remember when Rodgers was universally praised as the NFL’s best QB.
That’s the same problem that Favre now faces, as both of the ex-Packers greats realize that their lives haven’t been the same since they chose to leave Green Bay behind.
"It's over and done with. I was at fault," said Favre, during a 2013 radio interview.
He also acknowledged that ‘both sides had a part in it,’ while discussing a messy divorce with the Packers that created years of Favre fatigue among fans and the media.
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But the fact that Favre said 12 years ago ‘I was at fault,’ was telling then and is even more of a revelation now.
Even if the ‘Fall of Favre’ documentary is one-sided and lopsided, it’s impossible to watch Jenn Sterger’s tale without wondering what in the heck happened to a gunslinger from Mississippi who once had the best backstory in the NFL.
As the QB-needy Steelers begin OTAs, it’s also impossible to remember when Rodgers was super likeable, down to earth and easy to root for.
He's also kept Pittsburgh fans stuck in limbo for months.
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"The more you keep moving the goalpost back, outlandish things like that do seem less outlandish," Brian Batko, Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, exclusively told talkSPORT
No one knows the Steelers better than Bradshaw, who led a dynasty in Pittsburgh.
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"The thing that that I'm most proud of our four Super Bowls, it was the same team," Bradshaw exclusively told talkSPORT in February.
Bradshaw shredding his old franchise for drooling over a 41-year-old Rodgers is so spot-on that it hurts.
“That to me is just a joke," Bradshaw said. "What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me?
“That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there."
Rodgers won four NFL MVPs and threw 475 touchdowns with the best small-market franchise in the NFL, becoming one of the greatest QBs in league history.
Then he believed he was too good to be held back by Green Bay, and his career has been a running joke since.
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Throw in the fact that Rodgers keeps making the Steelers wait and wait, after going 6-12 with the New York Jets and getting his head coach fired, and it’s indisputable that a man with $380 million in career earnings was much better off when he was a football god adored inside Lambeau Field.
"There's a lot of love for me and how I feel about the team,” Rodgers recently said on the YNK Podcast.
"If I do or I don't (retire as a Packer), I don't think it should make a difference. I'm not sure yet.
“If they approached me about it, I probably would."
Favre threw 508 TDS, won three MVPs and made 11 Pro Bowls, but would still love to be a perfect Packer in 2025.
That’s impossible, now that he's more associated with a Mississippi welfare scandal and in the middle of an eerie Netflix doc.
Different worlds
Aaron Rodgers with Packers: 18 seasons, 59,055 yards, 475 TDs, 147-75-1 record
Rodgers with Jets: 2 seasons, 3,897 yards, 28 TDs, 6-12 record
Brett Favre with Packers: 16 seasons, 61,655 yards, 442 TDs, 160-93 record
Favre with Jets and Vikings: 3 seasons, 10,183 yards, 66 TDs, 26-19 record
Rodgers overcame a perplexing draft-day slide and years of sitting behind Favre to become a Packers icon.
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Yet he insisted New York was better and is now stuck on his own weird island, more removed than ever from everything that made him so cool in Green Bay.
In a decade, they'll both be in the Hall of Fame -- because they once were proud Packers.