In the spring of 2005, the chill in the Green Bay air stuck around a little bit longer than usual.
With the 24th pick in that year’s NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the University of California, Berkeley. The pick was notable not so much for what it meant in the present, but for what it signified about the future.
The Packers had essentially drafted a quarterback to replace the face of their franchise, Brett Favre, who was heading into his 13th consecutive season as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, leading them to a Super Bowl title and seven division championships along the way.
In the new book Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, author Ian O’Connor zeroes in on the early days of the contentious, awkward relationship between Rodgers and Favre, who played a very strange game of mentor and pupil.
For a full breakdown on Rodgers and Favre’s relationship — including an update on where things stand now — keep reading:
The Fallout From the Packers Drafting Aaron Rodgers
When the Packers drafted Rodgers in 2005, there was no question they had made a statement — and Favre had no problem expressing how he felt about it.
After the team had drafted his 21-year-old replacement plan, Favre, then 35, notoriously told reporters, “My contract doesn’t state I have to get him ready to play. Now hopefully he watches me and gets something from that.”
In Out of the Darkness, Rodgers’ father, Ed, gave a peek behind the curtain of how things began to play out between the two.
“Aaron did tell us a few things about how [Brett] wasn’t very welcoming,” Ed, who remains in the midst of a decade-long rift with his son, told O’Connor. “He’d have the other quarterback go on hunting trips and fishing trips and Aaron would never get invited.”
Another person close to Rodgers described Favre’s treatment as “actually cruel.”
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Brett Favre Once Played a Very Public Practical Joke on Aaron Rodgers
During one particular instance late in Rodgers’ rookie season, Favre got Rodgers’ goat in front of the entire team.
At practice, Favre approached a table in the locker room filled with items designated for players to sign for charity. In a moment of jest, Favre replaced a helmet on the table with Rodgers’ actual helmet and recruited as many teammates as possible to sign it — including Rodgers himself.
“Favre was walking around the locker room and said to me, ‘Hey, sign this helmet,’” Packers then-rookie linebacker Brady Poppinga recalled in the book. “I’m like, ‘Man, that’s one authentic-looking helmet. It looks like one of ours.’ But I didn’t look into it much more than that. I signed it and had to get out to practice.”
Once on the practice field, a member of the equipment staff handed Rodgers his helmet, which was covered in black Sharpie signatures.
“There was this roar of laughter,” Poppinga said when Rodgers slipped the helmet over his head.
Packers head coach Mike Sherman took things from bad to worse, asking his rookie quarterback, “Aaron, what do you think, you’re back in high school and you’re getting everybody to sign your yearbook at the end of the year?”
Poppinga explained the helmet incident was a perfect encapsulation of Rodgers and Favre’s relationship, saying Favre always wanted to treat Rodgers “like his little brother.”
Rodgers, of course, was not amused.
According to the book, he approached somebody in the locker room and asked, “Do you know what that motherf–ker did to me?”
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers’ Competitive Feud Extended Off the Field, Too
On the rare occasion Favre would actually allow Rodgers to tag along to a non-football gathering, the two still couldn’t help but engage in psychological warfare.
Former Packers kicker Ryan Longwell recalled how Favre “didn’t appreciate Rodgers kicking his ass on the golf course,” which Longwell remembered happening in front of him once.
Rodgers would also brag about his Wonderlic score, the cognitive test comprised of 50 questions given to NFL players.
According to the book, Favre “stewed” when Rodgers boasted about having a score 13 points higher than his own.
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Aaron Rodgers Did His Best to Assist Brett Favre — to No Avail
Rodgers was eager to show his worth during his rookie season, which involved printing out reports on the opposing team’s defensive backs every week and giving them to Favre.
“I always joked that he just tossed them in the bin on the way out,” Rodgers told CBS Sports in 2022.
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers Managed to Develop a Friendship Over the Years
Favre was eventually traded to the New York Jets in 2008, paving the way for Rodgers to be the Packers quarterback for the next 15 seasons. (Rodgers was, coincidentally, also traded to the New York Jets in April 2023.)
Despite the initial animosity, the two have slowly managed to smooth things over.
“He was a heck of a lot smarter than I was,” Favre previously said, insisting that there was “no animosity” as O’Connor writes, between the two.
Rodgers agreed, saying, “I think a mutual respect grew into the friendship we have right now.”
The duo made a public display of their relationship when they shook hands and traded jokes onstage at the 2013 NFL Honors. In 2016, Rodgers even attended Favre’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.
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As the football gods would have it, Rodgers would later find in a situation similar to Favre’s 2005 scenario, when the Packers drafted quarterback Jordan Love to be his heir apparent with their first-round pick in 2020.
“I learned a lot over those years working with Brett, things I can bring to the relationship with Jordan and just understand the mindset,” Rodgers said at the time. “I went through it as a young 21-, 22-, 23-year old playing with my idol as a teammate. I’ll definitely take those lessons with me.”
Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers is available now.
