The debate about when the Pittsburgh Steelers would sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended Thursday. But then the discussion of what number Rodgers would wear in black and gold began.
Rodgers wore No. 12 with the Green Bay Packers, but no one has worn No. 12 for the Steelers since quarterback Terry Bradshaw in 1983.
On Saturday, the Steelers announced Rodgers would wear No. 8 in Pittsburgh. The quarterback also donned No. 8 with the New York Jets the past two seasons.
Also on Saturday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported more details about Rodgers’ contract in Pittsburgh.
Rapoport tweeted Rodgers’ one-year deal is worth up to $19.5 million. The quarterback has a $13.65 million base salary and $10 million of his contract is guaranteed.
Rodgers can make an additional $6 million by reaching incentives.
Rapoport added that the veteran quarterback officially passed his physical and signed the deal
Aaron Rodgers Will Wear No. 8 With the Steelers
It’s not a huge surprise that Rodgers will don No. 8 instead of the No. 12 he wore with the Packers.
No. 12 is one of the most historic quarterback numbers in the NFL. So, Rodgers was actually in the same situation when he joined the Jets two years ago.
No player has worn No. 12 for the Jets since quarterback Joe Namath retired after the 1976 season.
With No. 12 also not available in Pittsburgh, Rodgers will stay with No. 8.
Punter Corliss Waitman wore No. 8 for the Steelers last season. Before that, former first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett donned the number from 2022-23.
Arguably, the best No. 8 in Steelers history is another quarterback who, like Rodgers, didn’t come to Pittsburgh until he was an old veteran. Tommy Maddox wore No. 8 for the Steelers from 2001-05.
Maddox posted a losing record as a starting quarterback with Pittsburgh. But he had one terrific season, where he went 7-3-1 while averaging 7.5 yards per pass and won the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2002.
During that campaign, Maddox also led the Steelers to a 17-point playoff comeback against the Cleveland Browns.
Terry Bradshaw’s Criticism of Steelers’ Rodgers Pursuit
Although Rodgers didn’t wear No. 12 with the Jets, Namath gave the four-time MVP permission to wear his number.
It’s not clear if Bradshaw also gave Rodgers the go-ahead to wear No. 12 in black and gold. In all likelihood, though, he didn’t.
Bradshaw was critical of Pittsburgh’s free agency pursuit of Rodgers just a little more than a week ago.
“That’s a joke. That is, just to me, is a joke,” Bradshaw said in a radio interview with 103.7 The Buzz in Arkansas on May 27, via NFL.com’s Michael Baca. “What are you going to do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.”
To answer Bradshaw’s question, yes, in all likelihood, Rodgers will be with the Steelers for a year.
Even if Rodgers has a tremendous season, he will turn 42 in December. The Steelers likely view the 20-year veteran as a one-year stop gap. Then next year, Pittsburgh will target a quarterback early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
It sounds like Bradshaw, though, would prefer if Kenny Pickett was still Pittsburgh’s starter
“You throw a kid in there for two years, and you’ve got an offense that doesn’t fit and doesn’t work, and they can’t run because their offensive line’s not even good enough for a run-blocking team,” Bradshaw said of Pickett. “Therefore, they’re saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn’t a failure, the Steelers were a failure.”
