The new unauthorized biography of Aaron Rodgers is full of valuable information that has already made its way into the media. (My own copy arrived today.)
An article by Ryan Glasspiegel from the New York Post about a gift that Jets owner Woody Johnson gave Rodgers in early 2023 was, at first glance, not as compelling as other anecdotes. But given the gift and its potential value, it’s fair to wonder if the Jets have embarked on a slippery slope that ends with the team giving the player an improper incentive.
“He gave me some honey from the queen’s garden,” Rodgers told writer Ian O’Conner. “It’s a cool gift.”
Glass Mirror explains that Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, “was very proud of the honey produced by Buckingham Palace’s hives – so much so that she gave Pope Francis a jar of it at their first meeting in 2014.”
So is it a problem for a team to pay that much to get a player to agree to a transfer there?
“Reasonable travel expenses, entertainment and accommodation can be part of a visit covered by a club,” the league told PFT by email. “Something like that would not be a problem.”
It is not yet clear when it would be a problem. Much of it depends on the value of the gift. If it is just a Jar of honey from the Buckingham Palace shopno big deal. If it is a special jar from the queen’s personal honey stash, it will have a higher value.
Of course, certain gifts would clearly be on the wrong side of the line (house, Ferrari, etc.). The question is, where is the line?
If it’s just a normal jar of commercially available palace honey, that’s no problem. Which of course makes the gift less “cool”.
It worked out anyway. Rodgers chose the Jets. And they hope he plays longer this year than it takes a bee to pollinate a small petunia bed.
