Aaron Rodgers should wait to sign with Steelers until schedule is released

Last year, the NFL gave Aaron Rodgers and the Jets a slew of early-season prime-time and short-week games because, as NFL V.P. of broadcast planning Mike North candidly admitted, "I feel like the Jets kind of owe us one."

This year, Rodgers has yet to sign with the Steelers. If he does it before the schedule is released on May 14, the league will know it's getting a marquee team and a marquee quarterback for a slew of standalone games. If he waits, maybe the schedule won't have as many prime-time appearances from (checks depth chart) Mason Rudolph.

At this point, it makes sense for Rodgers to wait until the schedule is locked and loaded.

Of course, the league could be assuming that Rodgers will be a Steeler. Two years ago, North said in April that the league was building the 272-game slate under the impression that Rodgers would eventually be traded to the Jets. (Of course, Rodgers had already said he intended to play for the Jets; it was just a matter of working out the deal.)

It's one thing to assume he'll be a Steeler. It's another to know. And if the league knows Rodgers will be a Steeler, the Steelers could have their routine disrupted by multiple Sunday-to-Thursday turnarounds and night games and other kickoff times that deviate from the preferred rhythm of Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Rodgers shrugged it off a year ago. “I love it," he told Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mag Dog Radio. "We are must-watch TV. And that’s pretty obvious. Everybody knows that. Whether you love me or hate me, people wanna see me play. They enjoy watching me play. And we are a team to watch this year. Not surprising. Six prime-time games in the first 11 or 12 weeks. I love it. You know, make it difficult.”

It was. Very difficult. The Jets went 5-12.

Although the league harps on competitive integrity and balance, that goes out the window when it comes to peeling away from the pack those games that will draw the biggest audiences in the best spots. An irregular schedule absolutely becomes a factor in a team's ability to win as many games as it can.

It's one thing for the teams that played deep into the postseason to be expected to have a more difficult schedule the next year, as it relates to when the games will be played. It's another thing to drop a team into Thursday nights and Monday nights and Sunday nights based simply on the idea that a certain team will draw more than another. (The Steelers haven't won a playoff game since the 2016 season.)

That's how the fans want it. It's good for them, it's good for the networks, it's good for the league. It's not necessarily good for the teams.

For the Steelers, owner Art Rooney II has said he likes to minimize the prime-time home games. If Rodgers officially becomes a Steeler before May 14, there will be plenty of Pittsburgh games, home and away, at night and/or at 4:25 p.m. ET.

Although enhanced flexing will make late-season shifts from Sunday afternoon to any of the three prime-time windows unavoidable for the Steelers if they're in postseason contention, the first half of the season is where a team can end up with a screwy schedule that complicates the effort to properly prepare — physically and mentally.

Again, the league quite possibly assumes Rodgers will sign with the Steelers. With or without him, the Steelers have plenty of compelling games in 2025. They host the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Bills, Packers, Colts, Dolphins, Vikings, and Seahawks. (One of those games will be played in Ireland.) They visit their AFC North rivals, along with the Bears, Lions, Chargers, Patriots, and Jets.

The point for now is simple. Rodgers has yet to sign. With OTAs not starting until May 27 and with the schedule coming on May 14, why not wait two more weeks?

Waiting won't make the eventual schedule any more arduous. Not waiting could.