New York Jets owner Woody Johnson gifted Aaron Rodgers a present fit for a king while trying to convince the quarterback to come play in the Big Apple .
In an upcoming biography of Rodgers titled: “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” the 40-year-old divulged that Johnson - who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Trump administration - gave him “some honey from the queen’s garden.”
The unique offering was well received by Rodgers, a self-proclaimed history buff, who stated in the book: “It is a cool gift.”
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According to The Royal Family , the late Queen Elizabeth II had grown a strong liking to the honey that the beehives located in Buckingham Palace produced. Back in 2014, she bestowed a jar of the sweet nectar to Pope Francis when the pair first met.
Around the time of the Queen’s death in 2022, a royal beekeeper even informed the bees that she had passed away. “It’s a very old and well-established tradition, but not something that’s very well-known,” folklorist Mark Norman told the New York Times .
It appears as though the highly sought-after honey played an integral role in Rodgers’ recruitment to the Jets. In March of 2023, the four-time MVP and his agent David Dunn privately spoke to Johnson, his brother and vice chairman Christopher Johnson, head coach Robert Saleh, GM Joe Douglas, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and team president Hymie Elhai.
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Following the five-hour meeting - which was held at Rodgers’ Malibu mansion that he reportedly purchased for $28 million in 2019 - the star quarterback officially decided that the Jets were his preferred destination should he be traded by the Green Bay Packers.
Author Ian O’Connor’s yet-to-be released biography additionally sheds light on the intricate tactics that the Jets employed in an attempt to land Rodgers. Christopher, often considered to be more friendly than his brother Woody, arrived at the Malibu home well before the New York’s other top brass and had a beneficial one-on-one talk with Rodgers.
“It’s genius if it was their grand plan,” Rodgers quipped in the book. “We had twenty minutes, just him and I.
“I love Chris, I really do. I feel like I’ll have a lifetime friendship with him regardless of what happens.”
Once the rest of the Jets personnel arrived, Rodgers revealed that he spent much of the day speaking to Saleh as the rest of the group took in the views on an outside deck. “[Woody] didn’t say a whole lot,” he added.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of ‘The Woody Show.’ But once he talked, he said all the right things. He wanted to win. He was willing to spend the money and get the right guys, and I enjoyed him. I like Woody.”
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