$50K Is Pocket Change
I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming. – Aaron Rodgers
New York Jets QB, Aaron Rodgers, skipped the team’s minicamp in June but said it’s no problem despite being fined $50,000 for his absence. Is this NFL news a sign of trouble to come when the games count for real or is it no big deal?
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Walk Like an Egyptian
Aaron Rodgers Jets’ savior, missed two days of minicamp on June 11th and 12th because he was in Egypt, on a “bucket list” trip of a lifetime. He previously talked about this on Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast:
“They can arbitrarily put a tag on whatever week of OTAs they want and say, ‘This is the minicamp week,’ which makes it somehow more mandatory than the other weeks,” Rodgers said. “But it was an OTA schedule. That’s how words can be a little deceiving from time to time. They can make a story out of the fact that I missed minicamp, but it was really two OTA days, but [I] came to the first 10.”
NEWS: #Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has RETURNED FROM EGYPT and is now in Los Angeles training again.
Rodgers missed mandatory team minicamp for this trip to the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/nAOGczycSZ
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 28, 2024
This put NY Jets head coach Robert Saleh in a bind because he had to tap dance around the question of whether Rodgers informed him and said, “he had an event that was very important to him, which he communicated.” Events are birthday parties, funerals, weddings, or the birth of a child but what they aren’t are vacations, whether it be in Egypt or on Jupiter.
It’s tough to put Saleh through the wringer for this fib because he doesn’t want to piss off Rodgers and he also doesn’t want to look like he’s lost control of the team. But what he’s got is a spoiled star quarterback who’s making $37.5 million per season and got every nickel of it last year despite playing only four snaps before tearing his Achilles.
I Don’t Care
Although Rodgers would like to chalk this up to a “no big deal” issue, the media persists in grilling him, as they should. Rodgers was asked about the 50 large he was fined and he had this to say:
“Back in some of the doldrums of the rehab, I thought it’d be fun to put together a trip with some friends,” Rodgers said. “I had a great talk with Robert. Obviously, he wanted me to be there [for minicamp]. I knew the consequences if I wasn’t gonna be there. The reaction is what it is.”
Aaron Rodgers was asked why he took a trip to Egypt the week of mandatory minicamp:
“I had a great talk with Robert. Obviously, he wanted me to be there. I knew the consequences if I wasn’t gonna be there. The reaction is what it is.” pic.twitter.com/ehcf6WhnWp
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) July 24, 2024
In other words, screw you, I’m doing what I want and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it except give me a fine that amounts to chump change in my world. Nice world, right?
Rodgers says he’s been fascinated with Egypt ever since he learned about it in a “gifted and talented class.” His sheepish smile as he said those words revealed he knew that the inclusion of “gifted and talented” would come across as pompous because it’s immaterial to the story but his insatiable ego would not allow him to tuck that little gem away.
In closing, Rodgers explained, “I knew what I was getting into. I knew the fine that was coming. I also knew how much I wanted to be in Egypt. I wish there hadn’t been a conflict schedule-wise, but it was what it was.”
