Rodgers clearly gave a lot of thought to what life would be like with the Vikings, because he made it clear that he understood the optics of what it would look like for a former Packers QB to end up in Minnesota, which is the path that Brett Favre once took.

Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle ($33.5 million average annual salary). The Athletic's report noted Rodgers' asking price was "not expected to be a major stumbling block" for teams. Russini reported around the same time that the New York Giants were believed to have offered Rodgers the most lucrative contract.

Rodgers cleared the air on his reported visit, telling McAfee that he tried to keep it as secret as possible. He revealed that he did have conversations with Steelers' Mike Tomlin and gave the longtime coach his flowers: "He's more than I even thought of him from afar."