Steelers Place Rare UFA Tender on Aaron Rodgers Before Deadline

PITTSBURGH -- In something of an insurance move, the Pittsburgh Steelers placed the rarely used UFA tender on Aaron Rodgers before Monday's post-draft deadline. The UFA tender preserves the Steelers' right to receive a compensatory draft pick in the event Rodgers signs with another team while also limiting his ability to sign with another team once training camp begins. The Steelers will have exclusive negotiating rights for Rodgers if he does not sign with another team by July 22 or the first day of Pittsburgh's training camp, whichever is later. Another condition of the tender is that Rodgers can also accept a 10% raise off last year's salary, which would pay him about $15 million this season. Despite using the tender on him, the Steelers remain confident Rodgers will ultimately sign with them, and the move is considered a "procedural" one, one team source told ESPN. The tag is rarely used because there aren't often unrestricted free agents of Rodgers' caliber -- ones capable of having a significant impact on a team's compensatory picks -- available at this point in the league year. A year ago, Rodgers waited to sign until early June, signing his one-year deal with the Steelers just before mandatory minicamp. At the NFL scouting combine in February, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan was confident this year's saga wouldn't be a repeat of the 2025 offseason. With new head coach Mike McCarthy, the Steelers' offseason schedule is different from a year ago. The Steelers are set to have their first voluntary OTA session on May 18, while mandatory minicamp is slated for June 2-4 with more voluntary OTAs scheduled afterward. As they await Rodgers' decision, the Steelers proactively added to their quarterback room by drafting Penn State product Drew Allar in the third round. McCarthy, though, said adding Allar to a room that also includes Will Howard and Mason Rudolph had no bearing on their situation with Rodgers. "No, not at all," McCarthy said Saturday. "This is about developing the room and trying to make the room as deep as we possibly can." ESPN's Adam Schefter contributed to this report.