Outside of his late June wedding date to tie the knot with longtime girlfriend Ronika Stone, Jordan Love has another reunion on his mind.
On Oct. 26, Love will face off against former teammate and friend Aaron Rodgers, who is the Steelers’ new No. 1 quarterback, when the Packers travel to Acrisure Stadium for the primetime “Sunday Night Football” slot.
“It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be awesome. I’m excited for it,” Love told Channel 3000 during a break in Friday’s first round of the American Family Insurance Championship at TPC Wisconsin. “I can’t wait to be on different sides, meeting up, and I know we’ll talk pre-game, things like that. And hopefully we can exchange jerseys after.”
Rodgers was in Love’s ear for three years after the Packers drafted the former Utah State quarterback at 26th overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Love watched Rodgers win back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021. In those same seasons, he led the Packers to the playoffs and went as far as the divisional round in 2021. In 2022, he witnessed Rodgers’ final season in the green and gold, which ended with an 8-9 record.
Love learned of Rodgers’ new team the same way as everyone else, and is happy for his former teammate to find a new home after an unlucky and dissappointed stint with the Jets.
“I was excited for A-Rod. I don’t think I was too surprised,” Love said. “I feel like there were a lot of rumors going on throughout the whole offseason about him going to the Steelers.
“I was excited for him, that he was obviously coming back and going to be playing. There were also some rumors that he might be done, so just knowing he’s going to keep playing, that’s pretty awesome.”
The signing with the Steelers sparked memories to come up for Love about Rodgers’ mentorship, along with how Brett Favre approached a young Rodgers.
“I appreciate definitely the way A-Rod handled being in that situation, and I think a big part of it — which he told me — was he knew how it was for him being in that same position, and the things that he went through and the way the situation might’ve been handled [differently],” Love said. “I think his perspective was, ‘I’m trying to go about this a little bit differently,’ which I think was awesome.
“In my time with A-Rod, we had a great relationship. It was awesome being in the same room with him, being able to learn. He was amazing with everything. And I definitely appreciate the way he handled everything on the outside with obviously him leaving and me taking over, and he’s been very supportive of me [since].
“It definitely helped with some of the negativity that might’ve come with that. But A-Rod handled it like a pro and did very right by me.”
Favre’s unretirement in 2008 and showing up at training camp to reclaim his old job led to a contentious relationship between the two.
The pro-Favre part of the fan base took out frustrations on Rodgers, which left a mark on the quarterback.
Thus, the Packers-Steelers game will have a very different energy to it than the games of Favre facing the Packers with the Vikings in 2009 and 2010.
“He’d been through the very same situation I was in, and he knew what it feels like to be in that situation,” Love said. “I think that’s just a testament to his character and the way he treats people. He was trying to go about it differently than it was for him. And I was grateful for that.”