The family feud between NFL star Aaron Rodgers and younger brother Jordan exploded long before it took center stage on “The Bachelorette.”
People magazine, citing a source close to the Packers quarterback, reported the brothers’ relationship unraveled two years ago when a minor disagreement escalated into a “blowup.”
“It wasn’t an argument about anything all that interesting. Some things were said on both sides that were regrettable,” the source said.
Though details of the confrontation are scarce, the report portrays it as the culmination of tension between highly competitive jock brothers.
“They’re always trying to one-up each other,” said the source. “It’s been that way since they were kids. They got older, and the stakes got higher.”
Aaron was selected No. 24 overall by Green Bay in the NFL Draft in 2005. He succeeded Brett Favre, led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship after the 2010 season — a second Lombardi Trophy is two wins away — and won two MVP awards. Jordan went undrafted in 2013 after playing at Vanderbilt. He was signed and cut by three different NFL teams, ending in May 2014.
“I was undersized in high school and I didn’t get recruited, but I kept at it and trained really hard and ultimately ended up playing for three different NFL teams,” Jordan explained last summer on “The Bachelorette.” “That’s something I’m proud of, just to get to that level.”
Jordan ultimately won the show’s top prize, the heart of JoJo Fletcher, now his fiancee, and since has become an analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network. While the rest of the Rodgers clan welcomed Fletcher with open arms, Aaron has yet to meet his future sister-in-law.
Ed Rodgers, the brothers’ father, confirmed a Bleacher Report story from November alleging Aaron hasn’t spoken to his family since 2014.
“Fame can change things,” Ed told the New York Times.
Aaron has been romancing actress Olivia Munn for more than two years. The “X-Men” beauty was long rumored to have caused a rift in the family. The actress weighed in on the estrangement as Jordan readied for his turn in the reality TV spotlight last year.
“Aaron doesn’t really … I don’t think he’s really talked with his brother,” Munn told Entertainment Tonight. “So, I actually don’t know. It’s complicated — I’ll say that.”
With Aaron’s focus on Sunday’s NFC Championship game against Atlanta, expect the MVP candidate’s lips to remain sealed on the fractured family relationships.
“As far as those kinds of things go, I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters,” Rodgers told reporters in July at training camp. “I’m not going to speak on those things.”