Archive June 12, 2025

When Aaron Rodgers arrived at the New York Jets in 2023, he joked about their sole Super Bowl trophy “looking lonely”.

The Jets went all in on the NFL’s four-time Most Valuable Player, who was expected to transform them into championship contenders.

The vibe was very different on the veteran quarterback’s first day with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.

Rodgers played down talk of a Super Bowl run while head coach Mike Tomlin said “we’ll make no bold predictions”.

After being released following a disappointing second season with the Jets, Rodgers spent months considering his future and said in April that “retirement could still be a possibility”.

He has chosen to play on but not for his football legacy. In 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers ensured he will head into the Hall of Fame as one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks.

Since winning the 2011 championship, a second Super Bowl ring has eluded him, but Rodgers said on Tuesday that challenging for another is not his main motivation.

It is not money either. His one-year deal with Pittsburgh is worth $13.65m (£10m) – one of the NFL’s lowest annual salaries among guaranteed starting quarterbacks.

He still feels fit enough too. Rodgers’ first season with the Jets was written off by a torn Achilles but he started every game in his second and currently “feels good” physically.

He kept the Steelers waiting because he needed time to deal with his personal life, which he revealed on Tuesday included getting married. Now he is ready to focus on football again.

“For my ego, I don’t need to keep playing,” he said. “A lot of decisions I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego – even if they turn out well – are always unfulfilling.

Pittsburgh have struggled at quarterback since two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season.

Justin Fields and Russell Wilson shared the role last season, and despite a positive start, the Steelers lost their last five games and bowed out in the first round of the play-offs.

Both then left – Fields replaced Rodgers at the Jets – while the Steelers brought in back-ups Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, and sixth-round draft pick Will Howard.

They still needed an obvious, experienced starter, and they left the door open for Rodgers, who remained in regular contact with coach Tomlin.

Some felt Rodgers had too much of a say in who the Jets recruited and how they played, but he showed some humility on his first day with the Steelers, saying he believes in Tomlin.

“I just want to be a servant leader here, pass on the knowledge I have, and try to fit in with the guys,” he added.

Rodgers is the NFL’s oldest active player and will replace Roethlisberger as the Steelers’ oldest-ever player.

Strong defences have played a major part in Pittsburgh’s six Super Bowl wins and that remains a hallmark of the current team.

The Steelers made a big move on offence in March by trading for Seattle receiver DK Metcalf, who trained with Rodgers in the off-season, but they then allowed both their leading receiver and running back from last season to leave – George Pickens and Najee Harris.

Since winning back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers’ stats have been in decline but ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith said: “He’s still got a little something left and it’s going to be better than anything we’ve seen in recent memory. Give them a chance”.

Ryan Clark, who played in Pittsburgh’s last Super Bowl success in 2009, said that Rodgers is “an upgrade but no longer elite” and that his arrival is “the worst-case scenario”.

He and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believe the Steelers will not make an impact in the play-offs but will “not be bad enough” to secure an early pick in next year’s draft, meaning they will miss out on a potential franchise quarterback.

Tomlin is the NFL’s longest-serving current head coach and the team has not had a losing record in his 18 seasons in charge, however, Pittsburgh have not won a play-off game since three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes was drafted by AFC rivals Kansas City in 2017.

Rodgers said in his documentary on Netflix last year that “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything to anybody but myself”.

But if this is to be his final year in the NFL, the schedule has provided plenty of opportunities to get the last laugh against his friends and foes.

The Steelers visit the Jets in week one and host Ireland’s first NFL game on 28 September against the Minnesota Vikings, rivals of Green Bay and one of three teams that spoke with Rodgers in the off-season.

Pittsburgh welcome the Packers in week eight and the Steelers will visit both of Green Bay’s other divisional rivals, Chicago and Detroit.

Two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks are in Pittsburgh’s division, the AFC North, so Rodgers could play two games against both Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati), and he is set to face last season’s MVP, Josh Allen (Buffalo).

When Aaron Rodgers arrived at the New York Jets in 2023, he joked about their sole Super Bowl trophy “looking lonely”.

The Jets went all in on the NFL’s four-time Most Valuable Player, who was expected to transform them into championship contenders.

The vibe was very different on the veteran quarterback’s first day with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.

Rodgers played down talk of a Super Bowl run while head coach Mike Tomlin said “we’ll make no bold predictions”.

After being released following a disappointing second season with the Jets, Rodgers spent months considering his future and said in April that “retirement could still be a possibility”.

He has chosen to play on but not for his football legacy. In 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers ensured he will head into the Hall of Fame as one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks.

Since winning the 2011 championship, a second Super Bowl ring has eluded him, but Rodgers said on Tuesday that challenging for another is not his main motivation.

It is not money either. His one-year deal with Pittsburgh is worth $13.65m (£10m) – one of the NFL’s lowest annual salaries among guaranteed starting quarterbacks.

He still feels fit enough too. Rodgers’ first season with the Jets was written off by a torn Achilles but he started every game in his second and currently “feels good” physically.

He kept the Steelers waiting because he needed time to deal with his personal life, which he revealed on Tuesday included getting married. Now he is ready to focus on football again.

“For my ego, I don’t need to keep playing,” he said. “A lot of decisions I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego – even if they turn out well – are always unfulfilling.

Pittsburgh have struggled at quarterback since two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season.

Justin Fields and Russell Wilson shared the role last season, and despite a positive start, the Steelers lost their last five games and bowed out in the first round of the play-offs.

Both then left – Fields replaced Rodgers at the Jets – while the Steelers brought in back-ups Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, and sixth-round draft pick Will Howard.

They still needed an obvious, experienced starter, and they left the door open for Rodgers, who remained in regular contact with coach Tomlin.

Some felt Rodgers had too much of a say in who the Jets recruited and how they played, but he showed some humility on his first day with the Steelers, saying he believes in Tomlin.

“I just want to be a servant leader here, pass on the knowledge I have, and try to fit in with the guys,” he added.

Rodgers is the NFL’s oldest active player and will replace Roethlisberger as the Steelers’ oldest-ever player.

Strong defences have played a major part in Pittsburgh’s six Super Bowl wins and that remains a hallmark of the current team.

The Steelers made a big move on offence in March by trading for Seattle receiver DK Metcalf, who trained with Rodgers in the off-season, but they then allowed both their leading receiver and running back from last season to leave – George Pickens and Najee Harris.

Since winning back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers’ stats have been in decline but ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith said: “He’s still got a little something left and it’s going to be better than anything we’ve seen in recent memory. Give them a chance”.

Ryan Clark, who played in Pittsburgh’s last Super Bowl success in 2009, said that Rodgers is “an upgrade but no longer elite” and that his arrival is “the worst-case scenario”.

He and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believe the Steelers will not make an impact in the play-offs but will “not be bad enough” to secure an early pick in next year’s draft, meaning they will miss out on a potential franchise quarterback.

Tomlin is the NFL’s longest-serving current head coach and the team has not had a losing record in his 18 seasons in charge, however, Pittsburgh have not won a play-off game since three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes was drafted by AFC rivals Kansas City in 2017.

Rodgers said in his documentary on Netflix last year that “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything to anybody but myself”.

But if this is to be his final year in the NFL, the schedule has provided plenty of opportunities to get the last laugh against his friends and foes.

The Steelers visit the Jets in week one and host Ireland’s first NFL game on 28 September against the Minnesota Vikings, rivals of Green Bay and one of three teams that spoke with Rodgers in the off-season.

Pittsburgh welcome the Packers in week eight and the Steelers will visit both of Green Bay’s other divisional rivals, Chicago and Detroit.

Two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks are in Pittsburgh’s division, the AFC North, so Rodgers could play two games against both Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati), and he is set to face last season’s MVP, Josh Allen (Buffalo).

Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup offers fresh opportunities to the quartet of African sides heading to the United States for the inaugural 32-team tournament.

Egypt’s record 12-time continental champions Al Ahly, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Tunisia’s Esperance are the teams looking to outperform European superclubs and other contenders from across the globe.

No African side has won the Club World Cup, with only two reaching the final during 20 previous editions.

But it now pays just to take part – the total prize pot stands at a staggering $1bn and, with $475m of that based on performance, success could secure a huge payday.

Although the tournament adds more games in an already packed calendar, Esperance coach Maher Kanzari says it is “a dream” for players to take part.

Ticket sales have reportedly been slow before kick-off on 15 June, but one Sundowns fan is backing the new format introduced by Gianni Infantino, the president of football’s world governing body, which is set to be held every four years.

“You can’t live one life,” Thabo Mothabela told BBC Sport Africa.

Kanzari has called on his squad to “rise to the occasion” when they face Flamengo, Chelsea and Los Angeles FC in Group D.

“Representing Esperance, Tunisia and the African continent is a huge responsibility,” he told the BBC.

“We know that the eyes of the fans will be on us, and we will give our utmost to demonstrate a level befitting African football.”

The four-time African champions will take part for the first time since 2019.

“Appearing in a tournament of the calibre of the Club World Cup is a dream for every player and coach,” Kanzari added.

Al Ahly, meanwhile, will face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the opening match (Sunday, 00:00 GMT) before games against Brazil’s Palmeiras and Porto.

The Cairo giants appointed Jose Riveiro shortly after winning their 45th Egyptian title, and have strengthened by signing Egypt forwards Trezeguet and Zizo.

All four African sides receive a participation fee of $9.55m – the same as the representatives from Asia and the North and Central American and Caribbean region.

That figure dwarfs the $4m prize money handed to this year’s African Champions League winners Pyramids.

Yet African clubs are among the poor relations at the Club World Cup. South America’s six representatives will all get $15.21m, while the payments for the 12 European sides range from $12.81m to a staggering $38.19m.

A group stage victory is worth $2m and a draw $1m, and the overall champions crowned in East Rutherford on 13 July will pocket $40m.

The long-term question is whether the huge sums on offer could impact club competition back on the continent – especially given that between them Al Ahly, Esperance, Wydad and Sundowns won every edition of the African Champions League between 2016 and 2024.

Fifa, however, says that all revenues from the Club World Cup will be distributed to club football across the globe, and it has a target of $250m for its solidarity investment programme.

Outnumbered three to one by European clubs, Africa hopes to have a bigger share of the pie in future.

“It’s a platform that we need to showcase our potential as African football clubs,” Hersi Said, the chairman of the African Club Association, told the BBC.

Some hope that African teams playing in the Club World Cup could draw attention back to the continent’s own club competitions, even if its Champions League lacks exposure and the revenue generated pales in comparison to its European equivalent.

The African Football League was launched to great fanfare by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in 2023 but has not returned since its inaugural eight-team competition won by Sundowns.

The Pretoria-based outfit, owned by Patrice Motsepe, the billionaire president of Caf, have established themselves as the dominant club in South Africa, scooping up the past eight league titles.

Yet one supporter of a rival side thinks Sundowns’ appearance in Group F, where they will take on Ulsan HD, Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense, could help boost the Premier Soccer League.

“If we are talking about the global stage, I don’t think Sundowns are as known as the other clubs there,” Kaizer Chiefs fan Wayne Magwaza said.

“Of the African teams, it’s Al Ahly that everyone knows.

The timing of the Club World Cup has already impacted the game on the continent, with the 2025 Africa Cup on Nations forced to move away from a proposed June-July slot and rescheduled to begin in December.

World players’ union Fifpro and top European leagues lodged a legal complaint last year over what they claim is an “abuse of dominance” by Fifa, but the tournament will proceed regardless.

Samuel Chukwueze’s club side AC Milan will not be involved but the Nigeria winger thinks the extra games are “too much” for footballers.

“The only time players [can] have rest is the time they put the tournament,” the 26-year-old added.

“It’s very difficult playing so many games. You are going to weaken your legs and your mind, and you will not have the desire to play.

“[But] if it is a tournament, then you don’t have any choice. You have to play.”

For supporters, the chance of glory is always alluring.

“Going to the Club World Cup is not child’s play but we’ve got high hopes,” Sundowns fan Mothabela said.

“The way the guys are playing gives us confidence. We believe they are going to be in the semi-finals.”

The chances of an African side returning with the trophy may be slim, but Fifa expects the Club World Cup to usher in a new era for the global game.