The team officially announced Thursday (Friday AEDT) it has informed Aaron Rodgers it is moving in a different direction.
The move has been anticipated for a while, with the Jets making a change at coach and general manager this off-season and Fox Sports reporting Sunday that the Jets had informed Rodgers they were moving on in a face-to-face meeting last week.
The move ends a disappointing chapter for the Jets and Rodgers, who came to the franchise in a trade in 2023 with plenty of hope attached to him.
“I personally want to thank Aaron for his time at the New York Jets,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement released by the team Thursday morning. “His arrival in 2023 was met with unbridled excitement and I will forever be grateful that he chose to join us to continue his Hall of Fame career. From day one, he embodied all that it meant to be a New York Jet, embraced our fans, and immersed himself in our city. That is what I will remember most when I look back at his time here. He will always be welcome, and I wish him only the best in whatever he chooses to do next.”
The Jets now must decide whether to release him and take the full $49 million dead money hit on their salary cap in 2025 or designated him as a post-June 1 release. That would allow them to split the cap hit over two years — $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026.
If the Jets decide to make him a post-June 1 release, they have to wait until the new league year on March 12 to actually release him. Rodgers, 41, would be free to sign with any team after that. Rodgers’ $23.5 million salary cap charge would remain on the books for the Jets until June 1.