Steelers’ Zach Frazier Reveals Aaron Rodgers’ First Strong Message to Team

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said while unsigned this offseason that he had other priorities in his life than football. But now that he is signed, the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be his priority.

That’s what Steelers center Zach Frazier told the media was the quarterback’s first message when he addressed the team on the first day of minicamp.

“He talked today,” Frazier told reporters on Tuesday, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “He just said he was ‘all in from now on.'”

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on June 5 that Rodgers “informed” the Steelers he planned to come to Pittsburgh to sign his contract the following day.

Rodgers signed the contract in time to attend the team’s mandatory minicamp from June 10-12.

Steelers’ Zach Frazier ‘Excited’ to Work With Aaron Rodgers

When the Steelers’ second-year center looks back on the beginning of his NFL career, he could very well be reflecting on a time where he snapped to two different future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

Last season, Frazier started the final nine games of the regular season with Russell Wilson. This year, he will anchor a Steelers offensive line with Rodgers behind center.

On Tuesday, Frazier addressed snapping to two different Super Bowl-winning signal-callers to begin his career.

“It’s pretty cool. Myself as a younger kid would be pretty excited about that,” Frazier said. “I mean, I am too.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

The Steelers drafted Frazier at No. 51 overall in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He missed two games because of injury last year, which was actually Wilson’s first two starts.

But overall, Frazier had an outstanding rookie season. According to the Pro Football Focus player grades, Frazier finished with the fourth-best grade among centers who appeared on the field for half their team’s offensive snaps in 2024.

The Incentives in Rodgers’ Steelers Contract

Details about Rodgers’ contract with the Steelers were slowly made public in the days following his signing.

On Saturday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Rodgers agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $19.5 million. The quarterback’s base salary will be $13.65 million while the contract will include $10 million guaranteed.

Rodgers can also earn another $5.85 million in incentives.

According to Spotrac, Rodgers can earn $500,000 by leading the Steelers to a playoff berth. The quarterback can also get $600,000 with a wild card win or bye and $750,000 with a division round win.

Rodgers will continue to rack up bonuses if he leads the Steelers further in the playoffs. A conference championship victory will award Rodgers $1 million, and the quarterback will get $1.5 million if he leads the Steelers to a Super Bowl win.

Rodgers can also get a $1.5 million bonus if he captures the NFL’s MVP award.

The Steelers last won a playoff game in January 2017, following the 2016 season. That was also the last time the team was in the AFC championship game.

Winning a playoff game and getting back to making routine championship round appearances has been a major talking point in Pittsburgh the last couple years. So, it makes sense that the Steelers included the incentives that they did in Rodgers’ contract.

Contract incentives are often tied to individual goals. But other than league MVP, Rodgers’ incentives are entirely team goals, and he will have to be “all in” to reach them.

Rodgers has won four MVP awards in his NFL career. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw has earned the only league MVP award in Steelers history during the 1978 season.