East Rutherford, NJ — November 24, 2023 -- Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers of the Jets in the first half as the Miami Dolphins defeated the NY Jets 34-13 at MetLife Stadium on November 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, NJ to play in the first “Black Friday” NFL game.
By now it has to be patently obvious to even the most docile observer that the US Sports media treats Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers far differently than they do most players. As we pointed out a few weeks ago here, making up or embellishing Rodgers-related stories has become a full-time job for some.
Now Dan Leberfeld of Jets Confidential and SiriusXM has shared his thoughts on why this is the case.
Tops on his list was Rodgers’ lack of availability to scribes. “Rodgers is an easy target for most sports talking heads and insiders because he doesn’t play ball with any of them.” points out Leberfeld. He continued, “they have nothing to lose trashing Rodgers. They aren’t losing scoops or access because he’s not giving them any”.
It’s a great point from Leberfeld. A highly accessible superstar is far less likely to get raked over the coals because a reporter may not want to hurt their chances at a scoop or exclusive interview. With Rodgers, if you know you’re getting neither, why not just tee off and grab some clicks?
We’ve pointed it out in the past and Leberfeld echoes our sentiment in saying that going after Aaron Rodgers has become a “cottage industry”. This is perhaps the most accurate part of what Leberfeld was saying.