The Pittsburgh Steelers still do not have a definite answer on whether star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, will play this season. However, they used an interesting tactic to ensure that if Rodgers does play he is a Steeler, Pittsburgh placed the seldomly used UFA Tender on Rodgers.
What Is The UFA Tender?
Adam Schefter broke the news,
“The Steelers placed the rare UFA tender on Aaron Rodgers, meaning that he can accept a 10 percent raise off last year’s salary, which would pay him about $15 million this season. As another condition of the tender, Rodgers would only be able to sign with the Steelers once training camp begins.”
The Steelers now have the opportunity to match any offer to Rodgers and after July 22, 2026, Rodgers can only negotiate with the Steelers. If Rodgers were to sign with a different team Pittsburgh would be eligible for a compensatory draft pick.
The $15 million is not a cap for what Rodgers can make next season but more of a placeholder for now.
Brooke Pryor of ESPN gave some insight into what this means for the Steelers,
“Despite using the tender on him, the Steelers remain confident Rodgers will ultimately sign with them, and the move is considered a “procedural” one, one team source told ESPN,” Pryor wrote. The tag is rarely used because there aren’t often unrestricted free agents of Rodgers’ caliber — ones capable of having a significant impact on a team’s compensatory picks — available at this point in the league year.”
This is not new when it comes to the Steelers and Rodgers as Pryor wrote,
“A year ago, Rodgers waited to sign until early June, signing his one-year deal with the Steelers just before mandatory minicamp. At the NFL scouting combine in February, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan was confident this year’s saga wouldn’t be a repeat of the 2025 offseason,” Pryor wrote.
According to Pryor and other sources around the league, there are no other known teams that are interested in Rodgers, it seems that his two viable options are returning to the Steelers or retirement.
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding Rodgers the Steelers have begun to prepare for the future after drafting Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the third-round of the NFL Draft and have young Will Howard, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2025 draft.
When Else Has This Happened?
While this tender is rare there are a few examples of it happening in the past, Pryor noted those here,
“The New England Patriots used the tender on LeGarrett Blount nine years ago. Blount ultimately signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and his departure was part of the calculation that gave the Patriots an extra fourth-round pick in 2018,” Pryor wrote. “The Kansas City Chiefs also used it on Melvin Ingram III in 2022, the Baltimore Ravens used it on James Houston that same year, and the New York Giants had it on Markus Golden in 2020. A year ago, the Los Angeles Chargers used it on J.K. Dobbins, while the Cleveland Browns placed it on Elijah Moore.”
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