On Friday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers shared that he had taken his sister-in-law’s advice before signing with the Steelers. Rodgers, known for his private personal life, has consistently criticized those who attempt to pry into his private affairs.
The athlete has said his wife is a very private person, and that he has made efforts to keep a barrier between his personal life and public scrutiny. However, The Athletic reported that Rodgers had taken guidance from his sister-in-law, Mia.
“I was taking orders from my (new) sister-in-law, Mia,” he told the outlet. “She’s 20 and she’s the brains of the family; you just have to ask her.” No — but that is partially serious for sure,” he continued. “Every team that I talked to, I said, ‘Listen, if I play, I’m not going to take a ton of money. I’ve made a ton of money. I don’t need the money.’”
Rodgers, a four-time MVP, said he is married to a woman named Brittani but has not disclosed much about her. In an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” back in June, he vented about the ‘sick society’ of the paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of his wife, who he described as a private person, without social media presence, and not wanting to be a public figure.
“I had people calling the papar, I had people posting personal life on the internet. Now, I didn’t want any of that, didn’t like doing that, and now I’m with somebody who’s private, who doesn’t want to be in the public eye, didn’t sign up to be a celebrity, doesn’t want to be a part of it,” Rodgers began. “And because I do things in private, because I want my personal life to be private, now I’m weird.
“What happened to common decency about security and a personal life that we now have to dive into your details of where you live and what you’re doing, who you’re with and what you’re doing and who your wife is, if you even have a wife, if you’re doing some sort of attention-grabbing thing? Because my wife is a private person, doesn’t have social media, hasn’t been a public person, doesn’t want to be a public person, and that’s somehow now a weird thing? . . . .
“The entitlement to information about my private life is so f—ing ridiculous and embarrassing. Hey, do what you gotta do. Just try and leave me out of a conversation, sports world, for a month. Try to leave me out, my personal life, my professional life. Try not to talk about me. Try to still be relevant for the next six weeks, five weeks, whatever it is. See if you can do that.”
Rodgers’ one-year deal is reportedly worth $13.65 million. He’s made clear that the 2025 season could very well be his last, and the Steelers have made sure to put a team around him that is worthy of challenging for the postseason.
Pittsburgh added wide receivers DK Metcalf and Robert Woods to the roster as well as tight end Jonnu Smith. The team traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for Jalen Ramsey, added Darius Slay and Juan Thornhill and drafted Derrick Harmon.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.