After talking for the past four months, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t appear to need more discussion. Still, Rodgers will make his way into town Friday with the potential for the two sides to finalize a contract that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed has not been finalized.

“There is no contract in place,” Rapoport said on NFL Live Thursday afternoon. “They have not had an agreement in terms of what Rodgers’ gonna make. He’s currently scheduled to make $15 million under the UFA tender. We will see if he’s willing to play for that.”
Pittsburgh’s tender on Rodgers did not lock in terms of the deal. Rodgers and the Steelers can agree to a separate deal that effectively overwrites the tender. By rule, the tender amount is 110 percent of Rodgers’ base salary from last season, but he may want an even larger increase in his contract. Earlier in the day, The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo speculated Rodgers wants something closer to “market value.”
In his lone media appearance of the offseason, Rodgers told the Pat McAfee Show that Pittsburgh had yet to offer him a contract. That tracks with how the Steelers handled Rodgers’ situation last year. First, Rodgers has to commit to playing. Only then will the two sides talk money.
Stalled contract negotiations likely won’t prevent Rodgers from signing with Pittsburgh. But the terms of Rodgers’ deal will be interesting to follow. Will the Steelers have the same structure as last year? A modest base salary with the rest of his deal full of incentives? Will Rodgers want more guaranteed money after missing out on most of those incentives from a season ago?
Rapoport also noted Rodgers has had consistent contact with all facets of the organization.
“He has had conversations with teammates, he’s had conversations with receivers, he’s had conversations with the fellow quarterbacks on his team,” he said. “All leading to optimism that he should play. And I am told finality to his situation is coming soon. It [could be] this weekend, could be early next week.”
Mercifully, the hurry-up-and-wait seems to be nearly over. Once Rodgers signs, the next question will be how much he participates in the voluntary OTAs that begin May 18.