Aaron Rodgers seems to have nothing to lose, and should win negotiations with the Packers

In order to win negotiations with the Packers, Aaron Rodgers has to make a truly tough decision.

Aaron Rodgers has always been relaxed — perhaps more relaxed than he should be. When staring down a 1-2 record in 2014, he looked at a room full of reporters and said: “R-E-L-A-X.” When fielding questions during The Match about his future with the Green Bay Packers — and, in turn, his career as a professional football player — he simply responded by saying, “I don’t know.”

He even smirked.

It feels like a game to him. It’s a game (media relations) within a game (football). The fact that he’s able to take such a low key approach is partially why I think he’s equipped to win his negotiations with the Packers. It seems Rodgers wants Green Bay to trade him. Why? Well, it’s not totally clear, but his relationship has clearly deteriorated over many years. He’s done with the Packers.

Problem is, they’re not done with him. The Packers obviously don’t want to trade their quarterback, one of the most talented players at the position. But there’s a pretty simple way for Rodgers to finish off Green Bay.

All Rodgers has to do is retire.

Would he retire? Again, that’s unclear. He has plenty going on in his life beyond football. He’s a limited parter in the Milwaukee Bucks ownership group. Rodgers is engaged to TV star Shailene Woodley. As soft-spoken as Rodgers is, he has charisma and a dry wit, which seems to be why he excels on TV, whether as the guest host of Jeopardy! or during regular appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show.” There’s plenty for Rodgers beyond football. His celebrity status is significant. He’s not limited professionally to “quarterback.”

Maybe his earning power won’t be as significant. Then again, maybe he can spin his celebrity status — and ample free time — into another earning opportunity that’s plenty profitable. Ultimately, after (so far) making $240.9 million in the NFL, Rodgers should be OK financially.

ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler is hearing rumblings Rodgers might return to the Packers. Retired Packers linebacker and NFL analyst A.J. Hawk thinks Rodgers is too competitive to walk away from the game.

I’m not so sure.

If Rodgers is as unhappy and, somehow, level-headed as he seems, he could easy play the trump card. He could just announce his retirement until the Packers trade him. And they may never. (That would be a pretty petty move for Green Bay, but it’s the rules they can play by.)

If Rodgers can find peace in retirement and retire happily, then he wins. He’ll announce his retirement and see how the Packers respond. If they trade him, he’s happy to write a new chapter on his career. If they let him sit in retirement, he might be happy spending his time on something else. And maybe Rodgers can pull off what Rob Gronkowski did. Maybe Rodgers can sit out for a year, only to have his team trade him. Anything is possible.

But Rodgers probably can’t win this battle of negotiations if he doesn’t use his trump card: retirement. So it’s a matter of whether he’d be happy moving on. And judging from the massive amounts of chill that Rodgers exudes, he would be just fine. He’s got plenty to do and plenty going for him. There’s always more to accomplish in the NFL, but if the Super Bowl champion is looking to move on from Green Bay, retirement is the only way to ensure that.

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