Latest / The Sports Hangover Daily / Rodgers Re-Signs: Steelers Bend the Franchise for Him | May 17, 2026
Transcript
- Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: Aaron Rodgers finally ends the Steelers' hostage situation and signs for another year, the Sabres force a Game seven with an eight to three beatdown of Montreal, the Preakness delivers a stunner at ten to one odds, and Cavs-Pistons heads to a winner-take-all tonight. Let's get into it. So after months of will-he-won't-he, Aaron Rodgers has re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. One-year deal, worth up to twenty-five million. He's forty-two years old. This will be his twenty-second NFL season. And he's expected to be at OTAs on Monday morning like nothing happened. Look, I have complicated feelings about this. On one hand, the Steelers needed a quarterback, and Rodgers is a known commodity. On the other hand — what exactly is that commodity right now? He started sixteen games last season. Threw for thirty-three hundred yards. Twenty-four touchdowns, seven picks. Led them to a ten and six record and a playoff berth. That sounds fine until you watch the tape. ESPN's own analysis said it plainly — by just about every advanced metric, Rodgers was the worst quarterback to make the postseason in twenty twenty-five. That's not a compliment dressed up as a stat. That's just what happened. And here's the part that really gets me. Mike Tomlin stepped down after nineteen seasons. They hired Mike McCarthy, Rodgers' old coach from Green Bay. So the Steelers reshuffled the entire coaching staff to make a forty-two-year-old comfortable. That's a franchise bending to a player, not the other way around. Pittsburgh used to be the place where the organization came first. Now they're building around a guy whose best days were a decade ago. Twenty-five million for one more year of Aaron Rodgers audibly sighing on the sideline after incompletions. I hope it works. I just wouldn't bet on it. Staying with the NFL — the A.J. Brown situation is still simmering. Schefter says a trade to the Patriots is tracking to happen on or after June first. Brown publicly torched the Eagles last season, the Eagles are clearly ready to move on, and New England is the landing spot everyone expects. If that deal goes through, the Patriots suddenly have a real number one receiver to pair with Drake Maye. That changes everything for that offense. Also on the NFL front, rookie signings are picking up. Houston locked up second-round tight end Marlin Klein. The Falcons signed corner Avieon Terrell and defensive tackle Anterio Thompson. Tennessee got linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. done. None of these are earth-shattering on their own, but this is the time of year when rosters quietly take shape. And in Denver, Ian Rapoport says Sean Payton expects Bo Nix to return to the field in some capacity. No firm timeline, but the fact that they're even talking about it is encouraging after what he went through. One more NFL note — the Vikings are still looking for a GM. Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander turned down their interview request. Minnesota's front office search is dragging, and that's not great when you've got a roster that needs direction. Over in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres destroyed Montreal eight to three in Game six to force a Game seven. Montreal's goaltender Alex Lyon got chased early — he faced four shots and stopped just one. Three goals allowed on four shots. That's a nightmare start, and Buffalo just piled on from there. Game seven is Monday night in Buffalo, and the winner gets Carolina, who's been perfect at eight and oh this postseason. The Hurricanes are rolling. Whoever comes out of this series is walking into a war. And the Preakness delivered a great story yesterday. Napoleon Solo, at ten to one odds, held off the favorite Iron Honor to win it. Time of one fifty-eight point six nine — the slowest Preakness in seventy-five years. Jockey Paco Lopez picked up his first Preakness victory, and trainer Chad Summers got his first Triple Crown race win. Not the flashiest race, but a fun underdog result. Alright, here's my Hangover Take. The A.J. Brown trade hasn't happened yet, and I already think the Eagles are making a mistake. I know he was a headache. I know the locker room stuff was real. But you're about to send a top-five receiver to a division rival for what — a future first? Maybe a twenty twenty-eight pick? The Patriots are in the same conference. Drake Maye is young and improving. You are arming a team that plays in your playoff bracket. If Brown stays healthy and Maye takes a leap, the Eagles are gonna watch A.J. Brown torch somebody in January and wonder why they gave that away. Philly has every right to move on from the drama. But tracking to happen doesn't mean it should happen. Sometimes the smart move is keeping the headache and winning anyway. Howie Roseman is usually the sharpest guy in the room. This time, I think he's outsmarting himself. That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.