Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers posed for a rare photo with his younger brother Jordan on Friday at Acrisure Stadium, marking a visible step forward in a family rift that has played out publicly for nearly a decade.
Jordan Rodgers, 38, was at the Pittsburgh stadium working as a college football analyst for ESPN during Pitt’s game against Florida State. Aaron, 42, wore a gray sweater, black pants and a baseball cap for the meeting, while Jordan appeared in a black blazer and blue tie for his broadcast duties.
Aaron shared the photo on Instagram with a caption praising his brother’s career. “Great to see little bro @jrodgers11 in his element tonight @acrisurestadium. Really proud of how hard he’s worked to get to where he is now,” he wrote.
Years of Estrangement
The brothers’ falling-out became public in 2016, when Jordan appeared on then-girlfriend JoJo Fletcher’s season of “The Bachelorette” and revealed that Aaron would be skipping his hometown visit because the two were estranged. Aaron later criticized Jordan for discussing family matters on television, calling it “a little inappropriate” in comments made that July.
Aaron also skipped Jordan and Fletcher’s 2022 wedding in Mexico despite being invited.
Signs of a Thaw
The reunion in Pittsburgh follows a string of smaller signals that the brothers were mending their relationship. On Nov. 4, Jordan appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” and, when asked which AFC quarterback he’d trust most in the playoffs, picked Aaron — a notably supportive gesture from the analyst.
Aaron has also been reconnecting with other family members this year. In July, he reunited with his parents, Ed and Darla Rodgers, and his older brother Luke, posting photos and describing the gathering as “bonding.” Jordan was not pictured at that event, and Aaron appeared to take a jab at his younger brother the following month over the 2016 “Bachelorette” disclosure.
By September, though, Aaron confirmed on the “Not Just Football” podcast that he and Jordan had reconciled, tying the reunion to his parents’ move from California to Nashville.
“A couple weeks after that, I went out to Nashville and met with my older brother. A couple weeks after that, I met with my little brother. It was cool. There were tough conversations for sure, but I’m just in a much better headspace,” Aaron said.
He added that the full family was now back in touch. “Now, full circle, [we’re] back together. It’s amazing. It’s been great to have all those people — my little brother, my older brother and his family, my parents — that’s been really, really special,” he said.
Aaron credited his wife, Brittani, with helping push the reconciliation forward. “My wife deserves a lot of the credit for that just to be able to get to that point to think about having the conversations, she was a big part of that,” he said.
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