By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Mar 15, 2023 at 1:06 PM Photography: Evan Siegle / Packers.com

It wouldn't be Aaron Rodgers offseason drama without needless tedium and drawn-out bloat. And indeed, despite all the hype, the Packers quarterback didn't make any official announcements this afternoon on his favorite sports talk program/PR outlet "The Pat McAfee Show." However, Rodgers did confirm what's been long assumed at this point: He's expects he'll play for the New York Jets next season. 

The four-time MVP winner didn't reveal any specific contract deals or details during the segment. Rodgers, however, did lay out the timeline of events this offseason, told from his particular perspective.

According to the quarterback, he went into his now-infamous darkness retreat under the impression that the Packers were giving him time to make his decision for the 2023-24 season – a decision that he was "90 percent" leaning toward retiring. However, Rodgers said that when he came out of his retreat, "something changed" with Green Bay brass' tone and that the team was instead already preparing to move on from the 39-year-old quarterback.

From there, Rodgers made his most noteworthy statement, revealing that he expects to play in a different shade of green in 2023-24.

"Since Friday, I made it clear that my intention was to play and my intention was to play for the New York Jets," Rodgers told McAfee and company. "I haven't been holding anything up at this point. It's been compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me and kinda digging their heels in."

The quarterback had kind words to say about Green Bay fans and assumed Packers 2023 starting quarterback Jordan Love afterward – but indeed, Rodgers expects to follow in his predecessor's footsteps and head to New York after a long tenure with the Packers.

It's clearly now just a matter of the technicalities, aka what the Packers get in return for the Super Bowl champ and four-time Most Valuable Player.

Obviously, when you're trading a player of that caliber, a team wants a decent return. For a recent comparison, the Seahawks received three players and five draft picks from the Denver Broncos for Russell Wilson last year. That being said, Rodgers is older than Wilson and comes complete with a hefty contract – almost $60 million guaranteed – meaning the Jets may be less inclined to send over the pile of picks and players that Green Bay wants. And considering Rodgers is almost 40 years old with likely only a year or two of football left, New York probably isn't interested in sacrificing much of their future, much less their current roster. After all, what's the point of getting Rodgers at this point if there's not much of a competitive team around him? (Especially in a division with playoff contenders like the Bills, Dolphins and Patriots.)

In short: Nothing today happened or was confirmed – but it was confirmed that something's going to happen. Confused? Well, it wouldn't be an Aaron Rodgers offseason without things getting convoluted!

For the entire Rodgers interview, here's the full clip from "The Pat McAfee Show." 

And for more updates when the divorce finally happens, stay tuned to OnMilwaukee.

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.