Aaron Rodgers has had a significant year off the field in 2026. After years of distance from his family, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has begun rebuilding relationships with his parents and brothers. Now, a public message of support for younger brother Jordan Rodgers offers another sign that their bond may be improving.
“Great to see little bro @jrodgers11 in his element tonight @acrisurestadium,” Aaron wrote on Instagram after Jordan worked ESPN’s broadcast of Florida State’s game at Pitt. “Really proud of how hard he’s worked to get to where he is now 👊🏻.”
The post celebrated Jordan’s progress as a broadcaster and carried added meaning given the brothers’ long period of estrangement. Jordan has steadily developed his career in college football coverage since joining the SEC Network in 2016. A year later, he became a game analyst on *SEC Saturday Night*, working alongside play-by-play announcer Tom Hart and analyst Cole Cubelic.
This fall, Jordan moved into more prominent assignments with ESPN. He now covers Friday night college football with play-by-play voice Mike Monaco and sideline reporter Dana Boyle. ESPN also named him to its ABC halftime desk, where he works with Kevin Negandhi and Booger McFarland.
## A family rift that played out in public
The brothers’ relationship became a subject of public attention in 2016, when Jordan appeared on *The Bachelorette* and said he and Aaron were not close. The following year, their father, Ed Rodgers, told *The New York Times* that Aaron had not spoken with the family since the end of 2014.
The precise reasons for the quarterback’s distance from his family have remained unclear. In his documentary, Aaron reflected on what it was like to grow up amid family strain and separation.
“At times when you have some dysfunction or some separation in your family life, you have to kind of reparent yourself and give yourself what you didn’t get or wanted to hear more of when you were a kid,” he said. “And I think for me, I just wanted to hear, ‘I’m proud of you.’”
He added that he had to learn to offer himself the encouragement he wanted to hear: “I had to find a way to be my own parent in those moments and say, ‘Hey, f— being perfect. I’m proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished on and off the field.’”
Aaron also spoke about forgiving himself for mistakes, saying he had been trying to do his best even when he felt it was not enough. The estrangement was not resolved with one argument and a quick apology; it followed years of silence between the quarterback, his parents and his brothers.
## Reconciliation has happened gradually
Signs of a thaw emerged in recent years. Ed traveled to watch Aaron play golf, and Aaron has said he has been making an effort to rebuild the family relationships.
In July, Aaron shared photos with his parents and brother Luke, captioning the post, “Another bonding week.” Jordan did not appear in the pictures, but he and his wife, JoJo Fletcher, liked the post.
Luke has also spoken about missing the relationship with Aaron. “It pains both of us not to have that relationship. We miss our brother,” he said. “We just are trusting that God brings things full circle, and just wish that everything would just get back to us being a family.”
In September, Aaron discussed the reconciliation on Cam Heyward’s *Not Just Football* podcast. He said he reconnected with his parents first, then Luke, and later Jordan, whom he met a few weeks afterward.
“There were tough conversations for sure, but I’m just in a much better headspace,” Aaron said. He explained that he had deliberately kept the process private because he did not want the family’s conversations to become a media story.
“I decided I didn’t want to play this out in the media because I didn’t think that was right,” he said. Aaron also pointed to the pressures of fame, saying his family “didn’t know what it would be like to have a son who was super-famous.”
Aaron’s Instagram message about Jordan is brief, but it publicly recognizes his brother’s work and progress. Its timing is also notable: Aaron said in May that the 2026 season would be his last. As he approaches the end of his playing career, his recent comments and family photos suggest he is working to keep his parents and brothers close.
