The 2025 NFL schedules were released on Wednesday, and the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 matchup versus the New York Jets has caught the attention of many fans.
As we all know, the Steelers have been pursuing free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers all offseason, but have yet to strike a deal with the future Hall of Famer. With Pittsburgh set to play New York to open the season at MetLife Stadium, many have speculated that it is a sign that Rodgers will eventually sign with the Steelers and play his former team in Week 1.
Despite many believing that some of the Steelers' schedule was influenced by the ongoing Rodgers pursuit, NFL VP of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North stated that Rodgers had nothing to do with any decisions made on Pittsburgh's schedule, including the team landing four prime time games.
"The Steelers landed their four primetime games because year in and year out, they are 'playoff relevant' late in the season and are a national brand," North said.
NFL VP of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North said they went through the schedule without thinking about Aaron Rodgers.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) May 15, 2025
The Steelers landed their four primetime games because year in and year out, they are 'playoff relevant' late in the season and are a national brand.
However, one of the North's colleagues in the league office, NFL vice president of broadcasting Onnie Bose, implied that Rodgers did play a factor in Pittsburgh's schedule during an interview with Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
"You and I have talked about it. We went through this when Peyton [Manning] was deciding. We went through it with [Tom] Brady, Rodgers the last couple years. There’s no hiding it, where he lands was going to affect what we’d do," Bose said. "The last two years, putting the New York Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 1 was a conscious decision. This was very different, because as of right now, the quarterback situation for the Steelers is Aaron Rodgers is not on the roster."
“Look, based on our history, the answer to that is likely yes,” said Bose, when asked if this would look different if Rodgers was on Pittsburgh’s roster. “If he’s on the roster now, sure, that’s our job. Last year with the Jets, we put a lot of attention on those games. And if he was definitively on the roster, we’d have a different filter [for the Steelers] for sure.”
Though Bose didn't outright tell Breer that Rodgers influenced some scheduling decisions for Pittsburgh, he was basically implying that the star quarterback was on their minds when constructing the Steelers' slate of games.
We'll see if Rodgers ends up landing in Pittsburgh, but it's clear that a few employees in the league office are preparing for the four-time league MVP to make his move sometime in the near future.
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