Jets' Aaron Rodgers Says He Chose to Continue NFL Career over Pursuing RFK Jr. VP Job

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he chose to continue playing football rather than consider running for vice president on a ticket with independent Robert Kennedy Jr.

Rodgers spoke to reporters Tuesday and said he would have had to retire from the NFL if he pursued the VP job.

"I love Bobby. We had a couple really nice conversations. But there were really two options. It was retire and be his VP or keep playing, and I want to keep playing," Rodgers said.

Kennedy is running as a third-party independent in the November presidential election. Attorney Nicole Shanahan, a relative unknown compared to Rodgers, was chosen as his running mate.

A former Democrat, Kennedy is not considered a serious threat to win the presidency. He has made numerous controversial statements during his time as a public figure, including spreading misinformation regarding vaccinations. Kennedy has also spread misinformation about HIV/AIDS and claimed gender dysphoria in children is a result of contamination in water.

Rodgers and Kennedy found kinship in their shared pushing of vaccine misinformation, particularly in regard to the COVID-19 vaccine. Rodgers had repeatedly shared debunked theories regarding the vaccine and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Pamela Brown and Jake Tapper of CNN also reported Rodgers privately shared conspiracy theories regarding the Sandy Hook shootings, which left 20 children and six adults dead in 2012. Rodgers released a statement calling the Sandy Hook massacre a "tragedy" but did not directly deny sharing conspiracy theories related to the event in the past.

Last week, Rodgers said he was interested by the idea of running with Kennedy to bring the country "back to what she used to be."

"My thing is, [Donald Trump] had four years to do it and didn't drain the swamp," Rodgers told Tucker Carlson. "And whether he just got scared because of what he learned when he was in there—I think it's very plausible."

"But that's why I was interested when Bobby came to me and said, 'Would you think about being my running mate?' And I said, 'Are you serious? I'm a f‑‑king football player.' But I love this country, and I'd love to be a part of bringing it back to what she used to be."