A four-time NFL MVP has confirmed he will retire after the 2026 season, ending two decades of uncertainty about his future. The announcement came Wednesday during a press conference in Pittsburgh.

Rodgers, now 42, revealed he will return to the Steelers for a second season with the team ahead of the 2025 campaign. When directly asked whether this would be his final year, the quarterback stated: “This is it, yep.”

The decision follows Rodgers’ contemplation of whether his Pittsburgh run and potential NFL career might end after the Steelers’ playoff loss in January and subsequent coaching changes. That uncertainty shifted when Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy, Rodgers’ former Green Bay coach.

Rodgers indicated he may have played a role in persuading the Steelers to hire McCarthy, creating a reunion for what is now his final season. The move provides Rodgers with a familiar coach and a franchise that expects to compete during its last push for a championship.

The announcement resolves years of speculation about when Rodgers would retire. For Steelers fans, every game of the 2026 season becomes part of a countdown. For the league, it marks one of the most debated quarterbacks of the modern era finally naming his exit.

Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay following the 2010 season and earned MVP honors four times, but has yet to claim a second championship despite a career defined by individual brilliance and postseason heartbreak.

The Steelers confirmed Rodgers signed a one-year contract for the 2026 season. The team noted he originally joined as an unrestricted free agent in 2025 and is now back for his second year with Pittsburgh.

Rodgers’ decision ends annual quarterback uncertainty in Pittsburgh, providing the Steelers with a clear starter and setting up one final opportunity to chase a championship under Rodgers’ leadership.

Rodgers’ career path—from Green Bay to the New York Jets to Pittsburgh—has been unconventional. His time with the Jets ended abruptly in 2023 when he suffered a torn Achilles just minutes into his debut, but he has since returned for one more chapter with a franchise built around defense and toughness.

Rodgers is known for charting his own path, whether it’s challenging NFL norms or deciding when and where to play. Retiring on his own schedule in a Steelers uniform fits this pattern perfectly.