The PGA Tour continues to head towards the FedEx Cup Playoffs as just two more events remain in the regular-season portion of the schedule. Up next is the 2026 Rocket Classic, which tees off on Thursday from Detroit Golf Club. A few big names such as Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are taking the week off, but it’s still a strong 2026 Rocket Classic field headlined by Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele. 

Young is the +950 favorite (risk $100 to win $950) in the latest 2026 Rocket Classic odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, following by Schauffele at +1600 and three-time 2026 PGA winner Chris Gotterup at +1800. Jackson Koivun, coming off a win at the 3M Open, joins Si Woo Kim at +2000. Before locking in any 2026 Rocket Classic picks, be sure to see the 2026 Rocket Classic predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

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SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping 17 majors entering the weekend, including the 2026 Masters — its fifth Masters in a row — as well as last year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites. 

Now that the 2026 Rocket Classic field is set, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.

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2026 Rocket Classic predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the Rocket Classic 2026: Koivun, who has the fourth-lowest odds in the field after last week’s win, barely cracks the top 10 this week. He’s a golfer to fade. The 23-year-old PGA rookie out of Auburn shot four rounds of 68 or lower, including a 61 on Saturday to surge past Scheffler and others at the 3M Open. It’s been an extremely impressive start overall, but the model isn’t comfortable backing him as one of the favorites quite yet considering he also missed the cut at the John Deere Classic a few weeks back. See who else to fade here. 

Another surprise: The model is high on J.J. Spaun at +3000. Spaun has struggled in the majors, but has been very competitive in the other events. He has four top-10 finishes and ranks 20th in the FedEx Cup Playoff standings. He didn’t compete in this event last year, but had two top-10s at it in the prior three years, making him a golfer to target in Rocket Classic best bets this week. See who else to pick here. 

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How to make 2026 Rocket Classic picks

The model is also targeting a massive longshot of around +3500 to make a run up the leaderboard. You can only see the model’s picks here. 

Who will win the 2026 Rocket Classic, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Rocket Classic odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed 17 golf majors, including three in 2025.

2026 Rocket Classic odds, field

Get full 2026 Rocket Classic picks, best bets and predictions here.
(odds via FanDuel and subject to change)

Cameron Young +950
Xander Schauffele +1600
Chris Gotterup +1800
Jackson Koivun +2000
Si Woo Kim +2000
Wyndham Clark +2200
Russell Henley +2500
Jake Knapp +2500
Hideki Matsuyama +2700
Patrick Cantlay +2700
J.J. Spaun +3000
Ben Griffin +3300
Ryan Gerard +3500
Akshay Bhatia +3500
Michael Thorbjornsen +4000
Nicolai Højgaard +4000
Harris English +4000
Rickie Fowler +4000
Keegan Bradley +4500
Michael Brennan +5000
Jacob Bridgeman +5000
Davis Thompson +5500
Eric Cole +6500
Jackson Suber +7000
Aldrich Potgieter +7000
Marco Penge +7000
Corey Conners +7000
Ryo Hisatsune +7000
Doug Ghim +8000
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +8000
Mac Meissner +8000
Jordan Spieth +8000
Max Greyserman +8000
Ben James +8000
Sungjae Im +8000
Pierceson Coody +8000
Matt Wallace +8000
Denny McCarthy +8000
Jordan Smith +8000
Johnny Keefer +8000
Ben Kohles +8000
Seamus Power +10000
Nico Echavarria +10000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +10000
Sudarshan Yellamaraju +10000
Samuel Stevens +10000
Michael Kim +10000
Andrew Novak +10000
Harry Hall +10000
Billy Horschel +10000
Nick Taylor +10000
Tony Finau +10000
Emiliano Grillo +10000
Zecheng Dou +12500
Stephan Jaeger +12500
William Mouw +12500
Chandler Phillips +12500
Steven Fisk +12500
Ricky Castillo +12500
Lee Hodges +12500
Jesper Svensson +12500
Mackenzie Hughes +12500
Taylor Moore +12500
Max McGreevy +12500
Chris Kirk +12500
Beau Hossler +12500
Kevin Yu +12500
Keita Nakajima +12500
Zach Bauchou +15000
Rasmus Højgaard +15000
Richard Hoey +15000
Taylor Pendrith +15000
Lucas Glover +15000
Matt McCarty +15000
Kristoffer Ventura +15000
Kevin Roy +15000
John Parry +15000
Matti Schmid +15000
William Jennings +15000
Zac Blair +15000
Patrick Fishburn +17500
A.J. Ewart +17500
Haotong Li +17500
Thorbjørn Olesen +17500
Austin Smotherman +17500
Neal Shipley +22500
Adrien Dumont de Chassart +22500
Garrick Higgo +22500
Chandler Blanchet +25000
Patrick Rodgers +25000
Austin Eckroat +25000
Luke Clanton +25000
Andrew Putnam +25000
Hayden Springer +25000
Chad Ramey +35000
Erik van Rooyen +35000
Alejandro Tosti +35000
Pontus Nyholm +35000
Davis Chatfield +35000
Tom Hoge +35000
Karl Vilips +35000
Cam Davis +35000
Joel Dahmen +35000
Mark Hubbard +35000
Ben Silverman
Brandt Snedeker +50000
Nick Dunlap +50000
Matt Kuchar +50000
Takumi Kanaya +50000
Trace Crowe +50000
Matthieu Pavon +50000
Justin Lower +50000
Davis Riley +75000
Aaron Wise +75000
Lanto Griffin +75000
Vince Whaley +75000
Hank Lebioda +75000
Adrien Saddier +75000
David Lipsky +75000
John VanDerLaan +75000
Webb Simpson +75000
Kevin Streelman +100000
Stefano Mazzoli +100000
Brendon Todd +100000
Jeffrey Kang +100000
Ryan Ruffels +100000
Brad Dalke +100000
Christo Lamprecht +100000
Brian Campbell +100000
Dylan Wu +100000
Kensei Hirata +100000
Joe Highsmith +100000
Marcelo Rozo +100000
Patton Kizzire +100000
Joseph Hooks +100000
Adam Svensson +100000
Danny Walker +100000
Adam Schenk +100000
Brice Garnett +100000
Gordon Sargent +100000
Peter Malnati +100000
Rafael Campos +100000
Patrick Wilkes-Krier +100000
Justin Quiban +100000
Keenan Huskey +100000
Daniel Azallion +100000
Ryan Celano +100000

The 30-man squad flew to Birmingham on Monday before training early evening in the Midlands, with Fermín Lopez continuing his recovery from injury.

The midfielder missed out on Spain’s World Cup success after breaking his foot against Real Betis in May.

Flick’s squad is a mix of senior players, along with others from Barcelona B and the under-19s, including forward Orian Goren who only turned 17 in March.

Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong has travelled despite a knee injury which was expected to keep him out for months.

The 29-year-old damaged the medial collateral ligament in his right knee at the World Cup.

Another surprise inclusion is Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has been expected to move to Ajax on loan. No deal has been struck so the German goalkeeper has travelled to England and could face Birmingham in Friday’s game.

Barca had a double session on Tuesday and are training on the pitch reserved for the England senior team.

After their trip to St Andrew’s, Barca will take on Preston behind closed doors at St George’s Park next Monday.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side started their pre-season with a 4-1 win against Northern Premier League Premier Division side Bamber Bridge at the start of the month.

Barca also travel to Italy for two 45-minute matches against Nottingham Forest and Udinese in the Friuli Venezia Giulia tournament on 8 August.

Barcelona squad: Ter Stegen, Fort, Balde, Araujo, Cortes, Guille Fernandez, Toni Fernandez, Farinas, Abdelkarim, Tommy, Xavi Espart, Yaakobishvili, Adeyemi, Christensen, Fermin, M Casado, Gerard Martin, Roony, Tunkara, Torrents, Bernal, Gonzalez, Kluivert, Szczesny, Goren, Gistau, Diarra, Pesquer, Rodriguez, De Jong.

Lindsay Park is preparing a strong three-horse contingent for Saturday’s Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington. A key feature will be the return of champion jockey Blake Shinn aboard War Machine, marking his first race since a significant fall on Melbourne Cup Day.

Also returning from a winter break is Mark Zahra, who will ride Arkansaw Kid after his recent Royal Ascot campaign. Jye McNeil completes the stable’s representation on Ndola, a horse that recently tasted victory.

The training team at Lindsay Park is aiming to replicate their 2019 success in the Aurie’s Star Handicap, when So Si Bon claimed the Group 3 sprint under David Hayes, Ben Hayes, and Tom Dabernig.

Ben Hayes indicated that jockey Blake Shinn selected War Machine after riding both stablemates in jump-outs at Flemington last Friday. “He rode them both in jump-outs last Friday and I don’t think there’s much between them,” Hayes stated. “He knows War Machine well and he’s going back to his old buddy.”

War Machine has not competed since finishing third in the Newmarket Handicap over the Flemington straight in March. Hayes noted that the gelding has benefited from a longer spell after a demanding preparation that began in April last year.

“He lost his way a bit last preparation,” Hayes commented. “He had a long prep. He went to Queensland, freshened, came back, went to The Everest, came back, but just didn’t come up in the autumn. He had a long break, and he seems to have come back really well. His work at home has been great and seems a happier horse. He’s enjoying his trackwork, so hopefully that converts to some good runs.”

Arkansaw Kid has experienced a different preparation, spending time at Lindsay Park’s Euroa base and Pakenham before recent jump-outs at Traralgon and Flemington. “We changed things around with him to keep him thinking,” Hayes explained. “He’s been in work a long time, so it was like changing stables, without changing stables. I thought his Traralgon jump-out was good, his jump-out on Friday was great and he’s always been a consistent, good horse for the stable and is a horse we all love. He’s good down the straight, he’s won a couple of Bobbie Lewis Qualities, so he knows what he’s doing.”

Ndola enters Saturday’s feature race following a win in the Listed Santa Ana Lane Series Final first-up on July 4, and subsequently defeated War Machine in a jump-out last week. Hayes mentioned the trial was designed to maintain the gelding’s fitness during the four-week break between races.

“He was good fresh when he got away with murder in front and they couldn’t catch him,” Hayes said. “It’s a step up in class and he’s running against some very good horses, but he deserves to be there.”

Check out the latest racing odds at online bookmakers.

After Oleksandr Usyk’s title vacation, the heavyweight division is searching for its next standout operator. Two of the frontrunners to be the divisional poster boy are Moses Itauma and Agit Kabayel, and Usyk has predicted how a fight between the undefeated duo would play out.

Usyk was linked to fights with both Itauma and Kabayel whilst reigning as the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight world champion, but his decision to vacate all three of those world titles has all but ended any hope of seeing the Ukrainian take on either man.

Instead, it is believed that Usyk will pursue Deontay Wilder for his career finale, dubbed his ‘last dance’, whilst Kabayel has been elevated to WBC heavyweight world champion and Itauma is preparing for an intriguing battle with Filip Hrgovic next month.

Should Itauma be successful against the Croatian, it seems as though a world title shot is almost guaranteed to follow, with Kabayel being confirmed as possible target for later this year.

Speaking on the DAZN broadcast of Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga on Saturday, Usyk admitted he would favour the 21-year-old to trump Kabayel, nodding his head in agreement with Tony Bellew when asked if Itauma is the one to succeed him as the man to beat.

Kabayel has also recently been mentioned for a potential world title unification against newly-crowned WBA heavyweight champion, Murat Gassiev – a move which could force Itauma to instead fight for the WBO crown against the winner of Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley’s pending rematch.

This year’s F1 championship introduced the biggest rule change in the sport’s history, with new aerodynamic and engine regulations.

While the chassis rules have generally been a hit – even if the cars are a little slower than last year – the new engines most definitely have not.

The nominal 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power (more like 53-47 in reality) combined with the architecture of the engines, has left them energy starved.

And when the battery is empty, the cars have only about 540bhp – less power than a Formula 3 car, but with loads more grip.

The need to constantly charge the battery has neutered many of the best corners on many of F1’s greatest tracks, reducing them to what Fernando Alonso has called “charging stations”.

The flip side is the energy starvation has led to some interesting battles, known as “yo-yo racing”, with cars swapping positions repeatedly over a number of laps.

But the drivers point out this is artificial, and that overtakes are often happening simply because one driver suddenly has 350kW (470bhp) more than the other.

As four-time champion Max Verstappen says: “Sometimes people say: ‘Ah yeah, but this was a great race.’ I say: ‘Yeah, but it’s not really realistic the way we are racing.’

“And then you arrive to some tracks and you’re driving on not a lot of horsepower for F1 standards. And it’s a little bit painful, which I could see coming already for years. So, it’s then, of course, not the most exciting.

“At one point I’m also a little bit fed up with repeating myself, because it’s already hard enough just having to drive it.”

The drivers – especially Verstappen and Fernando Alonso, but most of the others, too – were very vocal about this from very early in the season. The sport as a whole recognised there was a problem, and has reacted.

Tweaks to the rules to lessen the problem were made after just three races, and the engine split will be modified to become 60-40 by 2028, with an intermediate step for next year.

That will significantly reduce these issues, but not eradicate them completely.

F1’s governing body the FIA was warned repeatedly in the years leading up to 2026 that this energy starvation issue would happen.

This has left an easy target for FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to propose a return to naturally aspirated V8 engines for 2031.

It’s an idea with distinctly limited support among F1’s stakeholders. It lacks imagination and analysis, comes with its own set of problems, and is effectively turning the clock back 15 years.

The issue is not hybrid engines or turbos per se; it is the lack of energy recovery possibilities.

It’s a situation F1 forced on itself by removing the MGU-H, which recovered energy from the turbo and exhaust, and not allowing recovery from the front axle.

The sport needs to take a pause, intelligently and rigorously analyse what it wants from its engines in the future.

Then it needs to come up with a package that satisfies the manufacturers, has road-relevance, embraces concerns about the climate crisis, does not create a noise-hazard threat to some of the sport’s most high-profile races, is cheaper, allows the drivers to almost total access to full power, and gives a facility for overtaking.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he was at fault for the car crash he was involved in on July 14, which led to numerous injuries that have him limited at training camp.

Shanahan called beat reporters into his office on Monday to clarify that he was the one who caused the accident. The California Highway Patrol database had a “clerical error” attributing the accident to the woman involved in the two-car crash, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

“He took eyes off the road briefly to find his phone which fell between seats and when he looked up he had gone over the line and into an SUV,” Wagoner wrote on X.

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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Shanahan was in violation of holding and operating a cell phone while driving, but he wasn’t cited for it following the crash.

Reporters who spoke with Shanahan also mentioned him saying he didn’t lose consciousness or have any amnesia after the accident. He also noted he was traveling 20 mph at the time of the crash.

ESPN’s initial report of the crash said the woman didn’t suffer any injuries, but Shanahan sustained broken ribs, a broken nose and broken hand, while also suffering a severe concussion. Additionally, he needed 40 stitches to close cuts on his face.

KYLE SHANAHAN ‘THIS CLOSE’ TO LOSING HIS RIGHT EYE IN HORRIBLE CAR CRASH, NFL ANALYST REVEALS

During a Monday taping of “PFT Live,” Chris Simms, a close friend of Shanahan, revealed the 49ers coach nearly lost his right eye after viewing pictures sent to him by Shanahan’s wife after the crash.

“When you first see it, and it’s fresh, and some of the cuts are still wide open, I mean, it’s jarring,” Simms explained. “It’s jarring.

“He was this close to maybe losing his right eye.”

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Simms pointed to his forehead when he said, “The scar is so big right here.” He also said that Shanahan was feeling emotional about the situation when they were able to connect.

“He was emotional about it because he realized how close it was to being just a complete, you know, utter disaster,” Simms said. “Like, really, it was a disaster anyways. But, when you’re a part of that accident, like I said, he could have lost his right eye. It could have been a lot worse. You know, he’s very concerned about the woman he got in the accident with and how she is and handling that situation. So there’s just a lot there. And I think it was a lot for him to process.”

GM John Lynch said that, “Kyle basically is going to be like in the protocol,” in reference to his concussion. Simms said it is giving him “some issues” he must deal with through the healing process.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, left, reacts next to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, middle, during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Santa Clara, California, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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While Shanahan serves his team on a limited basis, Chris Foerster, the 49ers’ assistant head coach, is acting in his place.

The 49ers open the season against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10 in the first-ever game played in Australia.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to create a $20 billion company running the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family was announced Tuesday — and immediately attacked by European soccer body UEFA. “It is not FIFA’s to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “None of us are the owners of football.” FRANCE 24’s James Vasina reports. 

Few things in life are certain beyond death, taxes, and Tadej Pogacar winning the Tour de France. This year’s Grande Boucle went almost entirely as expected, offering few real surprises or diversions from the status quo, as the marauding Slovenian won another five stages en route to his record-equalling fifth title.

His place in the pantheon of greats had already been cemented and there are few superlatives left to describe his grip on the sport. He is now equal with cycling legends in the form of Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain on five wins; his 26 stage wins leave him nine off the record of Mark Cavendish, who will be wishing he’d postponed retirement by another year or two.

There could have been more had Pogacar not opted to babysit young teammate Isaac del Toro to a stage win, third place on the podium, and the best young rider’s jersey too. Pogacar is able to win at will but sometimes seems happier in the role of world’s most powerful domestique; perhaps the only thing holding him back from an unprecedented sixth title is whether he can muster the enthusiasm for it. At 27, he is younger than all of his fellow five-time winners were and will be in his prime for a while yet.

But while the Pogacar era looks set to continue for some time, the post-Pogacar era already looks to be one to savour. Those left cold by the two-time world champion’s iron grip on the sport can set a reminder to tune in in a couple of seasons’ time, or perhaps as early as this autumn’s Vuelta, should Pogacar skip it – as expected – to target a third rainbow jersey.

Because while Pogacar has no real rivals, the rung of grand tour racers below him is in rude health. Much had been made before this Tour of the rapid rise of French 19-year-old Paul Seixas, who won European bronze behind Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel in an attritional race last year and continued his rapid progress this season, coming second to the Slovenian at Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and winning a WorldTour stage race at the Tour of the Basque Country.

That hype appears justified after he finished fourth in his debut Grand Tour, a rather Pogacar-like result (he came third at the Vuelta a Espana in his first three-week race and was then sent straight to the Tour, after which, the rest is history). Seixas faded in the final week having been just 20 seconds off the podium after stage 16’s individual time trial, but the maturity and composure with which he rode was remarkable. France have had many Grand Tour hopefuls who have never fulfilled that early promise but the Lyonnais teenager looks to have both the climbing pedigree and the racing nous to deliver on it in years to come.

He also looks to be at the start of a fascinating rivalry with del Toro, the 22-year-old Mexican who already has podium places at the Giro d’Italia and Tour to his name. While he remains at UAE Team Emirates-XRG he will only ever be a superdomestique to Pogacar, but on the basis of those two podiums he should be the squad’s leader at any grand tour the Slovenian misses. He was unable to win the mountainous stage 15, towed up the same Plateau de Solaison climb by Pogacar which he mastered solo at the recent Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, where he won the overall, but was a clear third-best over the course of three weeks.

That stage was won by Evenepoel, who in many ways was the breakout star of this Tour despite already being a proven winner and former grand tour champion himself. The Belgian has had to endure plenty of criticism since his 2022 victory at the Vuelta a Espana, with many questioning his capability over three weeks and in the most gruelling mountain passes.

But over the last two seasons he has made himself leaner, a better climber, and a more durable rider, and that was evident here, as he recovered from a patchy first week to cement his best-of-the-rest status in the high mountains in the third; he was nearly three minutes clear of del Toro, despite the Mexican being shepherded along by Pogacar in the closing stages. Evenepoel’s teammate Florian Lipowitz, third at the Tour last year, is another consistent rider who had looked set to challenge for the podium before crashing out in the time trial.

Evenepoel’s much-debated transfer from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in the hopes of making him a real Tour de France challenger, has paid off. The 26-year-old’s outspokenness and strength of character is an additional boon for the sport amid an increasingly sanitised, media-trained peloton.

It would have been fascinating to see how Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard would have handled the challengers in the Alpine final week, having looked far from secure in second place until that point and with Evenepoel in particular steadily improving in both form and confidence. His crash on an innocuous bend on stage 15, having been subjected to a 2am doping test mere hours before, robbed the Tour of an explosive battle for the remaining podium places.

Rumours abound of Vingegaard considering retirement after every demoralising defeat to Pogacar, and just like after last year’s Tour he has a point to prove, with a host of challengers rising up behind him. He responded last year by winning the Vuelta in dominant fashion and backed that up with victory at this year’s Giro.

But while Pogacar remains supreme, an immovable object at the top of the sport, the landscape around him is changing. Vingegaard is the best stage racer after him – but with the rise of Evenepoel, del Toro and Seixas, how long will that last? Cycling is on the cusp of a fascinating new era, and crucially, one which even those bored by Pogacar can look forward to.

If you didn’t believe Aaron Rodgers when he first said this would be his final season, maybe now it will sink in.

Rodgers, who re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason and said that his 22nd NFL season will be his last, reiterated his desire to retire at training camp on Monday.

“This is it,” the 42-year-old told media members at a press conference.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers listens to head coach Mike McCarthy during NFL practice in Pittsburgh on May 20, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The thought of retirement has hovered around Rodgers for quite some time now, including this offseason, when the Steelers, and the rest of the NFL, for that matter, waited patiently to see if this was indeed the end of his career.

The Steelers, meanwhile, hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach after parting ways with longtime sideline leader Mike Tomlin. McCarthy and Rodgers have the obvious rapport of winning together as Green Bay Packers. They spent 15 seasons at Lambeau Field.

STEELERS LEGEND JEROME BETTIS SAYS THERE’S ‘EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR’ AS AARON RODGERS RETURNS FOR FINAL SEASON

Rodgers admitted McCarthy’s hiring was a key part of him wanting to ride out one more season into the sunset.

“I thought last year might be it and then Mike got hired, and then talked to the wife and she said, ‘You can do one more year. See if it works out.’ And then it kinda all came together,” he said.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers listens to a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

When one reporter brought up that Rodgers’ top receiver, DK Metcalf, had said players often claim it’s their last season only to return, Rodgers doubled down.

“No, zero debate,” he responded.

Rodgers said the same thing in May during a press conference after signing his one-year pact with the Steelers, which he joined after a lowly tenure with the New York Jets.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks on after being sacked during the first half of the NFL Wild Card game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Jan. 12, 2026. (Michael Longo/For USA Today Network-PA / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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In his first season with the Steelers in 2025, Rodgers went 10-6, throwing for 3,322 yards with a 65.7% completion rate and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

The Steelers also bolstered its offense this season, adding veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. They also signed Rico Dowdle to work with Jaylen Warren in the backfield after Kenneth Gainwell, who Rodgers loved to dump the ball to, landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.

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