Rodgers Wanted a Lambeau Farewell So Bad, He Already Picked the Steakhouse — Now He's Left With a Bitter Taste

GREEN BAY, Wis. — If this is truly the end of the road for Aaron Rodgers, he just lost his last chance to walk through the visitors' tunnel at Lambeau Field. And yeah, he's salty about it.

Speaking to Packers reporters Wednesday on a Zoom call ahead of Thursday's preseason battle between the Steelers and his old squad, Rodgers let it rip: he wanted this game at Lambeau. Badly.

"100%, 100%," Rodgers said. "When I heard it was possible to play both my former teams, I was really hoping this one was going to be in Green Bay, not just to get back at Lambeau one more time, but to head out to Chives for a dinner and maybe head out to Green Bay Country Club for a quick nine or something. I was really hoping it was going to be in Green Bay for a lot of reasons."

Every word dripped with nostalgia. The city. The people. The traditions. The golf. Yeah, the golf. That's what you get when a legend is on his farewell tour — he's already planning the postgame meal before the anthem even plays.

Rodgers spent 18 years in Green Bay before being traded to the Jets in 2023. The Jets never faced the Packers during his two forgettable seasons in New York. Then he signed with Pittsburgh in 2025, and last season the Steel Curtain hosted Green Bay at Acrisure Stadium — a 35-25 Packers win. So this was supposed to be the one. The homecoming. The final bow.

Instead, a glorified exhibition game in Pittsburgh. Brutal.

The Locker Room He'll Never See Again

Rodgers acknowledged the weirdness of it all. "It would have been strange, being in that [visitors] locker room and stuff, but I would have found my way over, like many former players have over the years ... and see some of the guys and see some of the trainers and equipment staff and all the people I really care about that still work there."

"Yeah, I was definitely bummed out that we weren't in Lambeau for this one."

Bummed out? Bro, you just wrote a breakup album in your head. This isn't just bummed — this is heartbreak in cleats.

Rodgers has made it clear this is his final season. That means the only way back to Lambeau now is through the Hall of Fame. He's a first-ballot lock, so in five years his name will join the greats on the stadium façade. His No. 12? Likely being retired. And after four seasons of retirement, he could be inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame.

"Well, there first has to be an invite back," Rodgers said. "We'll see about that, but yeah, I'm always going to have such a strong tie to Green Bay and the organization. If that comes to fruition, that could be a cool deal."

Cool deal? It'd be the most celebrated homecoming in NFL history. He knows it. We know it.

During that 20-minute session, Rodgers couldn't stop pouring love on Green Bay. Asked what he'll miss most in retirement, he didn't mention the throws, the wins, or the MVPs. He went straight to the people.

"Definitely the people I got to do it with," he said. "That's what this game's all about. It's about the relationships, and I'm just most thankful for all the men and women, you know, who've been in my life through this game over the years. So many great people in Green Bay, in the entire organization, top to bottom. You know, just salt of the earth-type of people."

"But the thing that actually lasts the longest is those people that impact your life, and there's been a lot of those, a lot of especially in Green Bay, it had a huge impact on my life. So I think about those people a lot."

It's a shame the football gods didn't schedule one more Lambeau visit. Rodgers will have to settle for a Hall of Fame induction, a retired jersey, and the eternal love of a city that watched him become a legend.

But we all know he'd trade it all for one more dinner at Chives.