I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, an unauthorized biography of the former Cal star written by Ian O’Connor, set to be released next Tuesday, April 20.
The one thing Rodgers regrets most, according to a ESPN preview of the bookis that during the pandemic he said he had been immunized. At the time, it was assumed that this meant he was vaccinated, but that was not the case, and when it came out that he was not vaccinated, it sparked a storm of criticism. This dramatically changed his public image.
But there is also his experience from 2023 in a Retreat from the darknesshis 2022 revelation that his use of a psychedelic a trip to South America helped him win an MVP title, his strained relationship with his immediate family, and his many controversial statements about the government and others in power. His relationships with prominent women seem to be a frequent topic in the tabloid press.
Still, according to the book, Rodgers is loved by other NFL players.
Will there be any coverage of his trip to Egypt that caused him to miss a mandatory Jets minicamp, or did that happen too late to be included?
Almost everything Rodgers says or does is a source of debate. And now, at age 40, after missing virtually the entire 2023 season with a torn Achilles tendon, he will try to lead the New York Jets to the playoffs, maybe even the Super Bowl. The challenge is intriguing.
How much space in the book will be devoted to Rodgers’ two years at Cal, when he went from an unknown junior college quarterback recruit to a first-round draft pick that helped Cal reach No. 4 in the final regular-season polls in 2004? Will there be any mention of his standout game against USC, when he nearly led the Golden Bears to an upset road victory over a Trojan team that would go on to win the national championship? Will there be any mention of his anger at being denied a Rose Bowl berth by the computers and Mack Brown? Or will his Cal experience be completely ignored in favor of the more exciting stuff since entering the NFL?
O’Connor’s next book needs no promotion from me, but it will be interesting to see what O’Connor comes up with. It might be a flop, but the fact that it’s “unauthorized” gives hope that it will provide an unvarnished version of Rodgers.
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