Ian O'Connor had the golden opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Aaron Rodgers for his new book, but it wasn't that easy to do so.
The famed author will publish his biography on what he calls “the most polarizing athlete in perhaps all of sports, but certainly the NFL” next week, and in fact had originally ended his book without Rodgers' own words.
He submitted the manuscript, without Rodgers, in February, and a month later learned that Rodgers was finally willing to talk to him.
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New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers attends an introductory press conference at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on April 26, 2023 in Florham Park, New Jersey. (Elsa/Getty Images)
However, with his family drama, it's pretty clear that Rodgers maintains a tight circle of trust that's best not to break. That's why when O'Connor reached out to those closest to the New York Jets quarterback, many were reluctant and it was a “challenge.”
“A lot of people were afraid to talk about him. His close friends and collaborators, I think, assumed I had an agenda to destroy him, maybe because of his stance on the vaccine, which I had absolutely no intention of doing,” O’Connor told OutKick’s “Hot Mic.” “It took me a while to gain the trust of people close to him and eventually convince him to sit down with me, which he did in February, and that certainly made the book better.”
O'Connor said he had contacted the Jets, Rodgers' agent and Rodgers himself to try to get him to speak in favor of the book, even sending him his other books to try to convince him.
“I wanted to make him understand that this is a very serious job for me,” O'Connor said.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, #12, waves to fans as he leaves the field following an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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In the end, O'Connor said, he simply became persistent enough, to the point where Rodgers was willing.
“I think I discouraged him. I reached out to a lot of his childhood friends and they were texting him to ask permission to talk to me and eventually that convinced him.”
O'Connor knew she had to delve into Rodgers' personal life, particularly his family, for the project to be complete. To her surprise, Rodgers was quite open, despite the pain.
“He didn't like that part of the conversation, but one thing I did appreciate about Aaron was that I said to him, 'Do you understand why it's necessary for me as a biographer to cover this in this book? How can I write the story of your life without covering this 10-year gap?' And he said, 'No, I understand. You have to.'”
“I appreciate that, because I think a lot of superstar athletes wouldn't have understood it – in fact, I know a couple who would have said, 'Write about my career. Why are you writing about my family anyway? ' He was smart enough to see that that was necessary to paint the full portrait of his career and his life… It wasn't a fun process, but he was willing to take part,” O'Connor said.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers speaks to reporters at the team's NFL football facility in Florham Park, N.J., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dennis Waszak Jr.)
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“Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” whose title, of course, is a pun on his infamous retreat into obscurity, is set for release August 21.
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