Bettis Backs Rodgers Return as Steelers Build Around Final Season

Bettis Backs Rodgers Return as Steelers Build Around Final Season

Aaron Rodgers has signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth up to $25 million, with the four-time NFL MVP confirming the deal will represent the final season of his career. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, speaking to Fox News Digital, said the signing has generated genuine optimism among those connected to the franchise.

Rodgers spent his first season with Pittsburgh starting 16 of 17 games and completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Bettis said the goal is to ensure the veteran quarterback departs on a competitive note. “You want to send him off well, but you also want to have a great season and look forward to the future,” Bettis said. The Steelers also hold quarterback Drew Allar, selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft from Penn State, alongside backups Will Howard and Mason Rudolph, giving the organization a clear succession structure behind Rodgers.

Bettis, who spent the final ten of his thirteen NFL seasons in Pittsburgh, rushed for 13,662 yards and 91 touchdowns across his career and won Super Bowl XL with the Steelers following the 2005 season. Since retiring in 2006, he has been a regular competitor in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, scheduled for July 10-12 at Edgewood Golf Course at Lake Tahoe, which will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.

With Rodgers publicly committed to one final season and a designated successor already on the roster, Pittsburgh enters the coming campaign managing both a championship window and a longer-term rebuild at quarterback simultaneously.