Aaron Rodgers explains his love for living in New York
Part of the fun of watching Aaron Rodgers playing for a new team (sorry, Packers fans) is seeing him explore his new city.
That’s why it was cool to see the former Packers great show up in NYC and embrace everything about it. New York definitely isn’t Green Bay, the charming small town that also is the smallest NFL market.
“I love it. I’m having a blast,” Aaron Rodgers said in an interview this week with NFL Network. “I grew up in a small town, there are a lot of small towns in Northern California. I’ve dreamed since I was a kid of being in a big city. I moved to LA and San Diego, and so I’ve been in some of those on the West Coast.
“But I’m loving the East Coast,” he said. “I’m really loving the city, I’m loving (New) Jersey where I’m at. Met a lot of great people being out and about done a lot of incredible things from you know, a hockey game and (Madison Square Garden), a couple of Knicks games. a Taylor Swift concert, an Ed Sheeran concert. We’ve been to see Wicked and now Back to the Future.“
Aaron Rodgers digs Broadway
Those last two references are to shows Rodgers has seen on Broadway. He even took in the Tony’s, which is Broadway’s biggest night, with teammate CJ Uzomah. That was back in June. Football fans spotted him in the audience. And there were videos of the quarterback walking the red carpet.
When Aaron Rodgers sight sees, he usually doesn’t go alone. He brought actor and noted Philly sports fan Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) to the Taylor Swift concert at MetLife Stadium. Receiver Allen Lazard has accompanied Rogers to some of the games. So has cornerback Sauce Gardner, the NFL’s rookie of the year from last season.
The two players also are working on a new on-field handshake. We’ll keep an eye out to see if they ever use it during a game.
But Aaron Rodgers is in town to help the Jets win a Super Bowl. He recently renegotiated his contract to save the Jets $35 million. That way the team has enough money to bring in other terrific players. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs agreed to something similar three years ago.
The Jets open exhibition season this Thursday. They’ll play the Cleveland Browns as part of the celebration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of now, it’s unclear how much action Aaron Rodgers will see. He is 39 and no one wants to risk injury. But he also needs to knock off the rust as he develops some on-field chemistry with his receivers.