If there’s anyone who knows what it takes to keep playing at the highest level, and even win Super Bowls well into his late 30s and 40s, it’s the GOAT himself, Tom Brady. And advice is something Aaron Rodgers desperately needs as he enters his 20th, and possibly final, NFL season. His Super Bowl drought now stretches to 14 years, with his lone Lombardi Trophy dating back to 2011, ironically against the Steelers. He hasn’t returned since.
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Winning one Super Bowl is difficult enough; everything has to align perfectly, and even then, luck plays its part. Winning another? That’s a mountain. So, what must Rodgers do to finally have his moment under the sun and go out with a bang?
Brady has long praised Rodgers’ ability as one of the purest passers of the football in his prime. But Father Time is undefeated. At 40, Rodgers can’t sling it like he did during that magical Super Bowl run. That version of A-Rod doesn’t exist anymore. The path forward now requires evolution.
For Brady, that evolution begins in the mind. He stresses the importance of simplifying the game mentally, seeing things before they happen, anticipating, and executing with precision.
“When you get older, you’ve got to find other ways to succeed because you don’t have the same 2011 version of Aaron Rodgers. We all have to evolve and grow, and there are other ways to evolve and grow. Some of it is more mentally. How do we make the game more simpler for ourselves so we can execute faster? And then, emotionally, how do we connect with our teammates and bring that competitive positive to work every day?
Brady also pointed out that sometimes a change of scenery can spark a resurgence. While Rodgers’ move to the Jets didn’t pan out, Pittsburgh offers something different: a franchise steeped in consistency, tradition, and a winning culture, the exact things New York has lacked for decades.
That’s exactly what both Brady and Peyton Manning did. They understood their arms weren’t the same anymore, and they could no longer throw for 50 touchdowns in a season. Instead, they leaned on their minds, processing the game faster, anticipating defenses, and trusting their teammates to execute. Both also made the difficult decision to leave the franchises that drafted them, finding success and a fresh start elsewhere.
Aaron Rodgers may find himself at the same crossroads that Brady and Manning once faced, but his situation is entirely different. Peyton’s Broncos were loaded with talent across the roster, and Tom’s Buccaneers had star power everywhere. The Steelers, on the other hand, don’t have that same level of firepower.
Yes, Pittsburgh is a storied franchise with a winning tradition, but the reality is stark: they haven’t reached the Super Bowl since 2011, nor the AFC Championship since 2017. While they consistently make the playoffs, they haven’t advanced past the Wild Card round in years. The challenge ahead is massive, even for someone of Rodgers’ caliber.
To simply end the playoff drought, he’ll need to give everything he has, and even that might not be enough to get them all the way to the Super Bowl.
