If Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is looking for some summer reading, he’s be wise to pass on “TurfWars,” written by former NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Smith emailed the soon-to-be-published book to the sports media website Awful Announcing. According to excerpts published by the site, Smith has some issues with Rodgers.
Specifically, Smith wrote about negotiations for the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the union and the league’s 32 teams. The CBA “narrowly passed 1,019-959 in part because of opposition to the addition of a 17th regular season game,” per Awful Announcing. And that didn’t sit well with Smith.
“‘The god of Cheesehead Nation was isolated and dismissive,’ Smith wrote of Rodgers in a players meeting, according to Awful Announcing. ‘He sat in the back row of the meeting room, issuing loud sighs before standing for a dramatic exit. An incredible quarterback, to be sure, but an even more impressive antagonist.’
“Then there is this line, ‘In August 2021, my phone chirped with a text from Aaron Rodgers,'” Smith wrote, per Awful Announcing. “‘Can you call me?’ it read. Could I not run into traffic instead?'”
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According to Awful Announcing, “TurfWars” will be published by Random House on August 5. By that time, Rodgers, 41, will be in the midst of his first (and last) training camp with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh signed the four-time NFL MVP last month, giving him a one-year, $13.65 million contract. On a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfeee Show,” Rodgers said this year will be his last in the NFL.
The Steelers have gone all-in on this season, trading for wide receiver DK Metcalf, tight end Jonnu Smith and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. With Rodgers leading the way, it’s Super Bowl or bust for Pittsburgh.
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Featured image via Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images