Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are leaving Paris with a win over the New Orleans Saints, but the 42-year-old quarterback decided to leave some pointed thoughts about international games at the podium inside Stade de France.
During his postgame press conference, Rodgers gave his lengthy thoughts on the NFL’s international expansion, advocating for a reformed system where each team plays an international game in the same week of the season followed by a universal bye week. That system, Rodgers suggests, was floated during previous collective bargaining negotiations two CBA cycles ago, but scrapped because the owners wanted to add a 17th game, which took away the week that could’ve been used for the universal bye.
Rodgers took that as an opportunity to lob a few criticisms towards ownership before pointing to some of the benefits of growing the game internationally.
Incredible: Aaron Rodgers peels back curtain on NFL. Said a decade ago plan was for a full week of international games. Mentions Dubai as destination. But greedy owners wanted 17th game instead. Would have added extra bye for player health. He also rips owners for being cheap 😂 https://t.co/nI6dkTmWlM
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) October 25, 2026
“There was talk about doing a week, an international week, where you had games in 16 different places and you just added an extra bye week,” Rodgers began. “So you play 16 regular season, you have two bye weeks, one of those weeks would’ve been an international week, I think it would’ve been phenomenal for the game. Owners wanted to push for 17 games for the extra revenue and because they care so much about player safety, but it would’ve been nice.”
He continued: “I think there’s great opportunities for expansion in those things. It’d be nice to see them have an international week, because I think it’s great for the game and expansion of the game. I wish there was a mandate, though, from the league — and they would have to open up their pocketbooks too, you know maybe they’re a little tight on money and stuff — I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture of the place you’re going. You can do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work, but they won’t because they’re a little tight [on money].”
Rodgers is clearly on board with playing international games, but he’s equally convicted that the NFL should go about scheduling these games in a way that is more considerate of the players. His comments come after safety was a key focus all week ahead of the Paris game amid civil unrest in France. The game, luckily, went off without a hitch, but served as a reminder that there are player welfare considerations that go well beyond long international travel when the NFL stages games in other countries.