Aaron Rodgers: Retiring a Packer 'Very Important' but 'Out of My Control'

History continues to repeat itself in Green Bay, where it appears Aaron Rodgers' days as the unquestioned starter for the Packers are numbered after the team drafted quarterback Jordan Love in April.

Speaking to the media for the first time since the NFL draft three weeks ago, the man who helped run Brett Favre out of town says he wants to finish his career in Wisconsin, but that it's not up to him.

"Obviously [retiring a Packer] is something that's very important to me," Rodgers said (h/t NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano). "That is truly something that is out of my control. What I can control is how I play." 

One year after the team selected Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 draft, Favre began speculating on the end of his career, saying he was "99.9 percent sure" he'd retire as a member of the Packers. 

Here's how Favre described balancing his desire to continue playing with the impending elevation of Rodgers as the starter while speaking with Bob Costas on HBO in 2006 (h/t Associated Press):

"I can't say [leaving Green Bay] wouldn't happen. If it comes to a point where they do start over, and I feel like I can play and they say, 'Brett, if you want to go somewhere else, go ahead, but we've got to start over, it's time for us to rebuild. It just doesn't make sense, so do what you want.' If I got the itch at some point, I can't say no."

Over the next few seasons, Favre kept threatening to retire, only to be pulled back into the fold by teammates until 2008, when the Packers were ready to move ahead with Rodgers and helped facilitate a trade to send the 38-year-old to the New York Jets. 

As Rodgers gets ready to enter his age-37 season, the same fate may await him. 

After more than a decade as the face of the Packers, he now has to contend with Love as his backup. 

Whereas Rodgers was drafted 24th overall in 2005, Green Bay took Love out of Utah State with the No. 26 pick in April. 

Like Favre, Rodgers wants to retire a Packer. And like with Favre, that is no longer up to him.