“I love you, I appreciate you,” Rodgers said. “Thanks for trusting me, supporting me, empowering me and making things easy for me.”
After a tumultuous off-season, Rodgers said he was grateful for how his relationships with Packers management blossomed. But he also said that he realized how different the team will look next season, especially after two of his confidants — offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was hired as Denver’s head coach, and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy, who became the offensive coordinator in Chicago — departed.
“This business is about people,” Rodgers said. “Just thinking about who’s going to be in that room — who would be in that room if I were to come back — there’s some sadness definitely around that.
He added, “I’ve talked at length various times about being comfortable walking away and just not playing. I don’t want to create more questions than I probably already have but I don’t fear retirement. I don’t fear moving on. I’m very proud of what I’m accomplished. Proud that I’ve accomplished it in Green Bay over the last 17 years, and excited about the future, whatever that ends up being or looking like.”
This year’s group of Hall of Famers was headlined by the posthumous selection of linebacker Sam Mills, who was in his 20th and final year of eligibility as a candidate from the modern era.
Two defensive linemen — Bryant Young of San Francisco and Richard Seymour, who played for the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders — were also selected in voting, which was conducted last month by a panel of 49 members of the news media. Joining them were Packers safety LeRoy Butler, who was in his 16th year of eligibility, and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli, who had been a finalist for the last six years.
The selection committee also elected three members: the coach Dick Vermeil, who won a Super Bowl with the Rams in the 1999 season; Art McNally, a supervisor of officials, who was the contributor finalist; and Cliff Branch, the Raiders receiver, who was the senior finalist.
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