The 2023 National Football League season was one to forget for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
After Rodgers was injured on the fourth play of the team's first game and missed the entire 2023 season, expectations are high for the Jet to return to action in 2024. However, fans of the 40-year-old athlete may now be worried that another item could keep him off the field — politics.
What Happened: Rodgers is a supporter of 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He also happens to be on the short list of candidates eyed by Kennedy Jr. as a running mate, according to a report from the New York Times.
Kennedy Jr., who originally was running as a Democrat, is now a third-party candidate. And he has spoken with Rodgers "pretty continuously" for the past month.
Rodgers and Kennedy Jr. both share several ideals in common including anti-vaccine stances and criticism of the public health system. The two also share a common belief with their support of leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin BTC/USD.
Kennedy Jr. owns Bitcoin and has been a vocal proponent of the cryptocurrency. Rodgers previously teamed up with Cash App to receive a portion of his salary in Bitcoin.
"The Fed keeps printing trillions of dollars, you know, the best defense against inflation, I believe is Bitcoin, and they will keep printing money," Rodgers said at the 2022 Bitcoin Conference.
The New York Times notes that the domain name kennedyrodgers.com was registered recently using GoDaddy.
Other names on Kennedy’s VP list include former Minnesota governor and retired pro-wrestler Jesse Ventura, former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Senator Rand Paul and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Bad News for Jets Fans?: Once Rodgers got hurt, the Jets struggled, ending the season with seven wins and 10 losses.
And a third-party candidate winning the U.S. presidency is considered a longshot, not unlike the Jets making the playoffs. Still, on several occasions, third-party candidates have helped determine the outcome of the race.
The 2024 election takes place in November with key campaigning taking place now until then. The NFL season begins this week with training camp set to start in late July. The 2024 games kickoff in early September.
Could Rodgers attempt to play double-duty by training/playing NFL games and campaigning during the early part of the 2024 NFL season?
The Jets are currently listed with odds of +2,500 to win Super Bowl LIX at DraftKings Inc DKNG, ranking 11th of the 32 NFL teams. The team is listed with odds of +290 to win the AFC East, ranking third in the odds behind the Buffalo Bills (+130) and Miami Dolphins (+185).
Rodgers, who has won four NFL MVPs, is also one of the betting favorites to win the 2024 NFL MVP Award. Rodgers has odds of +2,000, ranking 12th currently.
There are two years left on Rodgers contract with the Jets. He’s set to earn $35 million in salaries and bonuses for the 2024 season.
Rodgers recently said he hoped to play in the NFL for "two or three or four more years."
Why It's Important: Seeking to disrupt the current two-party dominated U.S. political system of Republicans and Democrats, Kennedy Jr. could still prove to be a worthy challenger to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump given his strong following and name recognition.
He is, after all, the son of the late Robert Kennedy — the 64th U.S. attorney general who later served as a U.S. senator from New York.
An athlete turning to politics would not be anything new, but Rodgers could be the biggest name to run on a presidential ticket in some time, if not ever.
Former athletes like Dave Bing, Steve Garvey, Kevin Johnson, and Herschel Walker have each ventured into politics.
Bill Bradley played in the NBA and went on to serve in the U.S. Senate and also ran for president in the 2000 election, losing the Democratic nomination to Al Gore.
Jack Kemp served in the U.S. House of Representatives and ran for president in 1988. Kemp was also the vice-presidential candidate for Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential election, losing to Bill Clinton/Al Gore. Kemp previously played for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL.
Gerald Ford was a star for the University of Michigan football team and turned down a potential career in the NFL with the Detroit Lions or Green Bay Packers before eventually entering the world of politics. Ford served in the U.S. House of Representatives, was a vice president and later became the 38th U.S. president after Richard Nixon resigned.
Read Next: Trump Vs. Biden – New Poll Shows Who ‘Double Haters’ Allegiance Is For 2024 Election
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