Aaron Rodgers spotted in Kentucky Derby crowd

As the NFL world waits for his free-agency decision, Aaron Rodgers is among the crowd at Churchill Downs on Saturday. He is in attendance for the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

NBC cameras spotted Rodgers at horse racing’s biggest event while going through some of the famous faces in Louisville. The former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets quarterback still has not announced a decision on where – or if – he’ll play in 2025, although the Pittsburgh Steelers remain the favorites.

Rodgers is among a decorated group of athletes in attendance for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles will do the “Riders Up” call, and other notable names such as Carmelo Anthony and Livvy Dunne are also at the race.

NBC finds Aaron Rodgers at the Kentucky Derby. #NFL pic.twitter.com/t9r4qS5t2a

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 3, 2025

Rodgers is going through the free agency process for the first time in his career, although multiple suitors appeared to drop out of the race. That includes the Minnesota Vikings, who eventually traded for Sam Howell to serve as J.J. McCarthy’s backup.

That leaves the Steelers as the favorite, although Rodgers continues to take his time with a decision. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show last month, he explained the delay, noting aspects of his personal life that led him to wait before signing a deal.

“I’m in a different phase of my life,” Rodgers said. “I’m 41 years old, I’m in a serious relationship. I have off-the-field stuff going on that requires my attention. I have personal commitments that I’ve made, not knowing what my future was going to look like after last year, that are important to me. … I have a couple of people in my inner circle who are really battling some difficult stuff.

“So I have a lot of things that have taken my attention and have beginning in January away from football. That’s been where I’ve been focusing most of my attention on.”

There was a sense at one point Aaron Rodgers could sign with the Steelers before last week’s NFL Draft, but the event came and went without a decision. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport indicated a resolution could be coming, and the thinking continues to be Rodgers will wind up in Pittsburgh at some point.

“From Art Rooney, it sounds like he was like, I think we’re getting closer to a decision, we are confident that Rogers is coming, I believe was the way he phrased it,” Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show. “They think Rodgers is coming. I think Rodgers is gonna be (going there) … I think everyone in the world thinks that (it will happen) … The only time I’ve ever thought that maybe he might not be coming was on your show. When you were like, sort of, you were sort of like, well, obviously you’re gonna play. He was like, hey, you know retirement’s a possibility and I was like okay.”