Let's Not Ignore How Aaron Rodgers Just Epically Trolled The Packers

Everybody felt it at the time. When the Green Bay Packers drafted Jordan Love in the 1st round of the 2020 draft, it completely altered the relationship Aaron Rodgers had with the organization. He took that decision personally. Here he was, having just led the team to another NFC championship in 2019. It felt like they were so close to finally returning to the Super Bowl. One more quality offensive piece could push them over the finish line. Instead, they draft his eventual replacement. Rodgers was not happy.

There were rumblings that he wanted a trade out of town. The Packers desperately tried to smooth things over. Rather than hold his ground, Rodgers opted to play some of his best football in 2020 and 2021, winning back-to-back MVPs. This put Green Bay in a bind. Love wasn't progressing as hoped, and Rodgers' contract was coming up. So they made the decision to hand him a lucrative extension. It instantly created salary cap headaches for them. Then, barely a year later, they traded Rodgers anyway.

The quarterback apparently wasn't done making a point, though. Reports have since come out that he voluntarily took a massive pay cut with the New York Jets to create cap space and help them to acquire more talent. Already there are rumblings they are in pursuit of Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook.

Aaron Rodgers made a statement with this move.

He'll pass it off as an obvious thing to do to help his new team find help to win a Super Bowl. Make no mistake. A healthy part of this decision was meant to send a message to Green Bay. He wants them to know that his push for that massive payday was retaliation for the Love pick and their stubborn refusal to seek more help in free agency and the trade market over the years. Now that he has a team willing to invest in pieces around him, he's willing to help them by taking less salary.

It's never been easy to like Aaron Rodgers. He has too many off-putting personality traits. That said, nobody can dispute the guy knows how to troll. Chicago Bears fans have known that for many years. Seeing Green Bay catch some of that venom for a change is wonderful.