At the age of 40, Aaron Rodgers is the oldest player in the NFL this season. The Jets QB made his NFL debut nearly two decades ago, debuting in 2005 with the Packers after he was taken in the first round out of Cal.
When Rodgers was starting his career as a pro footballer, many of today's players were still in diapers, years away from achieving their dream of reaching the NFL. One of those future stars was Bills QB Josh Allen.
When the current Jets QB was sitting behind Brett Favre in Green Bay to begin his NFL tenure, Allen was just 9 years old, playing youth football in his native state of California. Allen was more than a decade away from breaking into the league in 2018, when he was taken No. 7 overall by the Bills.
As he got older, Allen began watching Rodgers, a fellow Cali native, just like a number of other youngsters around the state and the country. Rodgers was dominant in his time with the Packers, earning four MVPs and winning a Super Bowl as Allen developed into a starting QB at Wyoming, and eventually a top NFL prospect.
Now, both quarterbacks are participating in the same division and each have their eyes on the same prize — an AFC East title en route to a Super Bowl.
But what is the connection between the two outside of that? The Sporting News explains the relationship between Allen and Rodgers.
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Josh Allen-Aaron Rodgers relationship, explained
When Rodgers was traded to the Jets in the summer of 2023, it set up two matches between the Bills and the Jets, giving fans a double dosage of Allen-Rodgers action. At the time of the trade, Allen expressed his pleasure with getting to play against Rodgers, who he idolized as a child growing up.
"I've just been such a fan of his since I was a little kid," Allen said at the time. "Having his jerseys and trying to emulate what he does on the football field. He's such a special player. I think he's the most gifted thrower of the football all time. Going up against him twice a year, it's going to be a battle."
Allen and Rodgers have developed a relationship off the field. The Buffalo star said that the two have gotten closer over the years and considers him a friend."
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"I've gotten to know Aaron a little bit over the years, and I would consider us very close," Allen said, via The Ringer. "I wouldn't say we text on the regular. I don't really call him, I FaceTime him. He usually answers, which is a big plus. I know he doesn't answer a lot of people."
Of course, we all know how that first contest went between the two. Rodgers' first game in a New York uniform did not go as expected, as the newly minted starting QB for gangrene. Rogers lasted just for plays before tearing his Achilles knocking about not only for the rest of the contest but the entire 2023 season.
Now Allen and Rodgers once again are set to go toe-to-toe in the first of two games between the AFC East rivals this season, with a matchup on "Monday Night Football" in Week 6.
