Aaron Rodgers is nearly on his way out of Green Bay.

The four-time MVP told the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday that he made a decision last Friday that he wanted to play in 2023 and he wanted to do it with the New York Jets. That came after a nearly three-month process that Rodgers said went from the Packers telling him to take all the time he needed to make a decision to him coming out of his four-day darkness isolation retreat with people telling him that the team was shopping him on the trade market. Now, with both sides ready go their separate ways, Rodgers said the only thing holding up the move to the Jets is the Packers digging their heels in on compensation.

"Since Friday my intention was to play for the New York Jets.. it's the compensation that's holding things up" ~ @AaronRodgers12#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/p7i0QBo2qQ

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 15, 2023

Rodgers said he holds no animosity towards the franchise, though he does think they could have been more open about their desire to move on from him. He said he could sense during the year they were ready to change course and that even if the team had wanted him back for 2023, he wouldn’t necessarily have wanted to return.

The appearance by Rodgers on McAfee’s show follows an interesting last few weeks.

A contingent of Jets personnel, including owner Woody Johnson, head coach Robert Saleh and new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett visited Rodgers last week in California. It was an opportunity for the team to show Rodgers exactly what they thought the team and franchise could be with him as its starting quarterback. The relationship with Hackett, who was Green Bay’s offensive coordinator for three years, almost certainly played a big role in Rodgers’ decision.

The Packers had largely been quiet during the entire process, with GM Brian Gutekunst telling reporters at the NFL Combine that there were still talks between the two sides that needed to happen. But then came team president Mark Murphy’s words last Friday at the WIAA girls basketball state tournament. In comments to various outlets, Murphy made clear that he felt Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay was done, saying he could only see Rodgers back as the quarterback of the Packers if things didn’t go the way the team wanted them to, presumably a trade or Rodgers retiring.

The move ends Rodgers’ time with the Packers after 18 seasons, including the last 15 as the starting quarterback. He exits as the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdowns (475) and passer rating (103.6), while finishing second to Brett Favre in yards (59,055), completions (5,001) and attempts (7,660). The team’s first-round pick in 2005, Rodgers led the Packers to 147 wins, eight NFC North titles, five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl title.

His departure opens up an opportunity for 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love to step into the starting role after sitting behind Rodgers the last three years. Gutekunst has said multiple times this offseason that the former Utah State product is ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. In limited action, Love has thrown for 606 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. In his one significant relief appearance in 2022, the 24-year-old was 6-for-9 for 113 yards and a touchdown against the eventual NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Rodgers heading to New York comes 15 years after Brett Favre made the same move to the Big Apple following a summer of discontent in 2008. Favre would end up returning to the NFC North a year later to join the Minnesota Vikings in an effort to get some revenge on his old team. While that happened to an extent in 2009 with a run to the NFC title game, the Packers would eventually come out on top in the situation with Rodgers leading them to a championship in Super Bowl XLV a year later.

The situation Love steps into has some similarities, including the fact he was Rodgers’ backup the last three seasons, just like Rodgers was to Favre. He has a young group of wide receivers that will likely be added to in the draft, a talented backfield with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, and an offensive line that features a couple of All-Pro types in David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins. Love has essentially been QB1 the last two offseasons with Rodgers not taking part at all in 2021 and only showing up for on-field drills during the team’s mandatory minicamp.

But Love is also likely to be joined by some new faces at the quarterback spot. When Favre retired in 2008, the team drafted Brian Brohm in the second round and Matt Flynn in the seventh. Gutekunst and his staff believe in Love, but drafting at least one quarterback, perhaps as early as the second day, is certainly in the cards during next month’s draft.