Aaron Rodgers refused to be drawn into a war of words with Terry Bradshaw after the NFL legend branded Rodgers’ move to the Steelers a ‘joke’ and told him to ‘stay in California’ and ‘chew on bark’.
Rodgers, 41, recently signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers after months of uncertainty over his future in the NFL.
Bradshaw won four Super Bowls with the Steelers during a Hall of Fame career in Pittsburgh. And ahead of Rodgers’ arrival, he savaged the four-time MVP.
‘What are you gonna do? Bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me?’ the legendary Fox analyst said in May. ‘It’s a joke… that guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.’
It was a thinly-veiled dig at Rodgers’ penchant for alternative treatments including darkness retreats.
But the 41-year-old did not bite back when Bradshaw’s comments were put to him on Saturday. Instead, Rodgers paid tribute to the Hall of Famer and even cracked a joke about himself.
Terry Bradshaw said Aaron Rodgers should:“Stay in California, chew on bark, and whisper to the gods.” Here is the new Steelers QB’s response pic.twitter.com/hUxYmH6Fle
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) July 26, 2025 
Aaron Rodgers refused to be drawn into a war of words with NFL legend Terry Bradshaw
Four-time Super Bowl champion Bradshaw branded Rodgers’ move to the Steelers a ‘joke’
‘I whisper to the gods every single day,’ Rodgers joked to NFL Network. ‘I’ve known Terry for a long time, being a part of Fox. Terry’s a legend. He’s an absolute legend. He won four Super Bowls. He’s had a legendary career in the media… but Terry, like a lot of people, doesn’t know me.
‘And, so, he’s got an idea of what he thinks about me based on what I’ve done, the documentary, what I’ve said, darkness retreat, whatever the hell you want to talk about.
‘I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level. I feel like if he gave me a chance to get to know him, then we’d have a good friendship. So, I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level if he’s open to it. And maybe we can go chew some bark or whatever the hell he’s talking about together.’
Rodgers, who will return to the Jets on week one of the NFL season, also insisted he had ‘nothing but the utmost amount of respect and deference’ for what Bradshaw and other ‘greats have done.’
‘They laid the foundation for us to be able to play in this great game. To be paid like kings and to carry on the tradition of excellence that guys like the Bradshaws of the world in the ’70s and Bart Starr in the ’60s and [Vince] Lombardi and Joe Montana and Steve Young and Troy Aikman and Brett Favre and all the greats,’ the quarterback continued.
‘We’re standing on the backs of those guys. It’s because of how they played and how they carried themselves that we’re able to have this opportunity to still play this great game, to get paid really well, to set ourselves up for our future.’
