Why Does Aaron Rodgers Use Wired Earphones and Avoid Using Bluetooth or AirPods?

Aaron Rodgers is currently the oldest player in the NFL at 41, and he’ll turn 42 as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers in December. Off the field, he engages in some of the most unconventional methods and is regularly wrapped up in conspiracies. It’s the natural thing that we all do as we age, but Rodgers takes it to an extreme.

Rodgers proved he’s been in the league for a while by once arriving at a game wearing wired headphones. They’re a tool and device that have largely faded out due to the arrival of Bluetooth. But there is a deeper method behind Rodgers’ choice, and it’s all tied to a conspiracy theory he believes.

In a conversation with Zach Wilson on Hard Knocks in 2023, Rodgers said that the EMF emissions from Bluetooth and AirPod devices are harmful to the brain. 

“They were making fun of you for the wired headphones you were wearing,” Wilson told Rodgers.

“What, you mean the ones that are saving my brain from all the harmful EMF emissions? It’s like my uncle always says, you can’t fix stupid. But good look, though,” Rodgers responded. 

In 2019, an article from Healthline went viral that exposed the EMF guidelines in Bluetooth devices. At the time, scientists claimed that the guidelines were “inadequate” and that wearing Bluetooth headphones could increase one’s risk of cancer. Especially in the head or neck area. 

But since then, many articles have come out and debunked this claim. It’s now been established that the amount of EMF radiation that comes out of Bluetooth devices is nowhere near the level that needs to be harmful. In essence, they do emit EMF, but at a very low, non-harmful rate. Some manufacturers have even created “EMF-free” and “anti-radiation” models of Bluetooth headphones.

Regardless, it doesn’t seem like Rodgers has come around to that idea yet, which isn’t surprising. He’s very opinionated and tends to dig into a stance whenever there’s a controversial topic. EMF emissions are the least controversial of the conspiracies and methods that Rodgers has been tied to over the years.

Rodgers has been an outspoken conspiracy theorist on a wide range of topics, including vaccines, JFK’s death, and 9/11. Additionally, he’s done a four-day darkness retreat in rural Oregon, as well as a stimulated DMT trip in his free time during past offseasons.

Like the iceberg from Titanic, Rodgers tends to care more about what’s beneath the surface rather than what’s on top. He seemingly loves to dig and find weird idiosyncrasies that arise from big cultural events. Surprisingly, the NFL hasn’t allowed him to play while wearing his tin foil cap every Sunday yet. But he is allowed to attend as many games as he wants, wearing wired headphones.