The New York Jets have a vastly different story about their breakup with Aaron Rodgers than the rumors that have circulated.

On Tuesday, new Jets general manager Darren Mougey met with the media at the NFL scouting combine. Contrary to reports, the franchise never told him he had to stop doing guest appearances on the Pat McAfee Show if he wanted to return to the team in 2025, he said.

"I'm not here to confirm or deny any rumors that happened during that process. I will say this, there was never an ultimatum or rules of engagement for Aaron to potentially join the Jets again. That never happened," Mougey said. "[Jets head coach Aaron Glenn] and I had a lot of dialogue, a lot of conversations, a lot of good thoughts and just felt at the end of the day, it was the best thing for the Jets moving forward, just going in a different direction at the quarterback position."

He added, "A lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers as a player and person. First ballot Hall of Famer, wish him nothing but the best, but that was the decision we made, and look forward to kind of moving past that."

Two weeks ago, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported the team was open to bringing Rodgers back but only on its terms. Part of that included moving away from doing some of his more divisive media appearances, like he weekly spots with McAfee.

Rodgers is set to become a free agent and his two years with the Jets were a bit of a disaster. He only played a handful of snaps during the 2023 season before tearing his Achilles tendon in the team's opening game of the season. In 2024, he played in all 17 games and completed 63.0% of his passes for 3,897 yards, with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His passer rating (90.5) and QBR (48.0) were career-lows for a full season.

Regardless of how the breakup occurred, Rodgers and the Jets are now moving away from each other. The franchise wants it known that it wasn't going to force him to stop doing his favorite media appearances.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets GM Says Aaron Rodgers Was Not Given Ultimatum About Pat McAfee Show.