“You're Brett Favre's backup”: The Office's Kevin Malone shares first Aaron Rodgers encounter at blackjack table

Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in National Football League history. He is a Super Bowl Champion, a four time league MVP, and a ten time Pro Bowler. However, there was a time when Rodgers was behind another NFL QB on the depth chart, specifically at the beginning of his amazing career.

Prior to becoming a star in the league, Rodgers was the QB2 on the Green Bay Packers roster behind Brett Favre. On July 2, Brian Baumgartner, the television star known for his iconic role as Kevin Malone on 'The Office' franchise, revealed that he was sitting with Rodgers and talking with him the day Favre announced that he was not retiring from the NFL.

The comments were made on the popular Rich Eisen show.

"The day that we met [Baumgartner and Rodgers] was the day that Favre said, 'I'm not retiring,'... We were sitting next to each other at a blackjack table, he's sitting next to me, and I don't know who he is. Once he introduced himself, [I was like,] You're the Cal guy — you're Favre's backup. I knew who he was, but I didn't recognize him."

Baumgartner then continued by highlighting how Rodgers was a fan of 'The Office', something that started a great relationship from that moment.

"He was a fan of 'The Office', and we just started a relationship there. And on the screens, they had a TV station that was running sports on loop, and they were saying, 'Farve is not retiring — what's gonna happen to Aaron Rodgers?' and we're literally sitting next to each other on that day." (04:35) Baumgartner said.

As is evident, Baumgartner is an avid sports and NFL fan, in addition to being friends with Rodgers.

Will Aaron Rodgers return to his best in 2025?

Rodgers has not looked like the same player since leaving the Green Bay Packers. Although a lot of that comes down to his serious achilles injury suffered in 2023, Rodgers has not had the same accuracy, agility, and quick decision making since becoming a member of the New York Jets.

However, 2025 is another opportunity for Rodgers to find some late career success similar to other NFL legends like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Both Brady and Manning were able to win Super Bowl's with new teams in the latter stages of their career.

With a strong offensive unit, a great defense, and one of the best head coaches in the league, Rodgers and the Steelers expect to be pushing for a Super Bowl next year.