The Bears may have finally seen the last of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Steelers quarterback claimed Wednesday he plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season.
“Yes,” he told Pittsburgh reporters. “This is it.”
“This is it.”
Aaron Rodgers says he will retire after the 2026 season. pic.twitter.com/mjPADJdRLY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2026
If so, the only way he can face the Bears again is if the two teams meet in the Super Bowl. The Bears played the Steelers last season, but Rodgers missed that game — his only absence of the year — with an injured left wrist.
Last week, Rodgers agreed to a $25 million deal to return to Pittsburgh for his second season there after playing two with the Jets. He cited a desire to play for new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy, his former boss with the Packers.
The two teamed up to win Super Bowl XLV with the Packers, the only title for either man. Rodgers spent 18 years in Green Bay, emerging as one of the most hated rivals in Chicago sports history. He dominated the Bears throughout his career, once claiming — with little pushback — that he owned them. Rodgers won four MVP awards and went to 10 Pro Bowls with the Packers.
Rodgers hinted he would retire last year, too, before returning to the Steelers.