Aaron Rodgers is talking again. Not with his game, but with that increasingly tired sense of superiority. No surprise here given his inflated ego. During a recent podcast, the quarterback tossed off a pointed remark: he wouldn’t want to live in Louisiana. It wasn’t subtle, and he most likely meant New Orleans.
To that we say: Good. We wouldn’t want you here either.
New Orleans isn’t for everyone, and it sure isn’t for people who think culture begins and ends with their own ego. Rodgers may be a household name, but he’s become better known for his off-field antics and conspiracy-stoking media appearances than anything happening on the turf. And while he played a full season in 2024, let’s not pretend he lit the league on fire. His stats were decent—3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, but the Jets still went 5–12 and missed the playoffs. That’s not exactly the mark of a comeback king.
This city has welcomed true legends, including athletes who didn’t just show up but showed out. Drew Brees didn’t just win games; he helped rebuild a city, and he embraced us and became one of us. You can’t fake that kind of connection. And Rodgers? He makes it clear with every sneer and snub that he doesn’t want one.
And that’s fine. We want people who do want to be here. We experienced this already with Derek Carr, an overpaid QB who didn’t embrace the culture and was absent the entire week of the Super Bowl. People who understand that New Orleans is more than a place. It’s a spirit that manifests community, culture, resilience, and joy in the face of absurdity. It’s second lines, Sunday gumbo, porch conversations, and showing up for your neighbors.
Aaron Rodgers doesn’t get that, and he doesn’t have to. But if you’re going to go out of your way to insult a city you don’t understand, don’t expect that city to want you back.
Let him stay in the media echo chambers and locker rooms where everything feels transactional. Here in New Orleans, we live with intention, flavor, and heart. And we prefer our quarterbacks with a little more of all three.
