Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers has announced his next move ... but it ain't related to his football career -- the NFL superstar is set to speak at a huge psychedelic science conference!!

The 39-year-old quarterback is one of several featured guests for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies' "Psychedelic Science 2023" event in June ... which is being dubbed "the largest psychedelic gathering in history."

The conference -- which is expecting 10,000 attendees -- will include speeches, workshops and panel discussions about all things hallucinogens.

Of course, Rodgers has been outspoken about his passion for the plant-based psychedelic, Ayahuasca ... which he credits with helping his mental health and MVP seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Rodgers has also previously talked about his use of mushrooms ... which led to him trying out the brewed drink during his trip to South America.

Rodgers isn't the only athlete slated to speak -- Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen is also listed as a special guest for the event in Denver.

If Aaron Rodgers ends up packing his bags and taking his talents to the Jets, former Giants stars Eli Manning and Shaun O'Hara have some simple advice on how he can thrive in New York -- "just win!!"

The two-time Super Bowl MVP and his good buddy/former teammate took a few minutes from their Easter extravaganza with The Children's Place in New Jersey on Friday to chat with Babcock and Lucas on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) about the biggest story of the NFL offseason ... and they both offered a solid perspective on what's going through Aaron's head as he contemplates his future.

"It's hard just because your whole life, you work towards it," Eli tells us. "You're dedicated to the game, you've been doing it the past 25 years since high school, preparing to play this game. To say, 'Alright, I'm not doing it anymore,' it's a really tough decision."

"Usually, in your heart, you just know you're not willing to do the preparation, to do the work, to do the full commitment it takes to play at that level."

Eli -- who retired in 2020 -- says he knew he made the right call when he called it a career ... because when he started watching games as a spectator, the tackles made on the field looked "brutal."

O'Hara added even after players retire, they will continue to think they can still play ... but he says since Rodgers is playing at such a high level, he'd be shocked if he left the game behind right now.

If O'Hara is right, there's a good chance Rodgers could end up with a new home after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers ... and there's rumblings that next team could be the Jets.

Since Manning and O'Hara have a ton of experience playing in the Big Apple, we asked if they had some wise words for the 4-time MVP ... and Eli thinks Rodgers would do just fine, especially after he spent several days on an isolation retreat in Oregon.

"I don't think Aaron needs any advice from us," Eli says. "The guy's been playing at an unbelievable level for so long, MVP. If he wants to come to New York and play if that's an option, he'll think about it."

"He's had his time in the darkness to debate that. And, he honestly can still play at a high level and come to New York with a young team, they have a talented roster there with the Jets."

O'Hara added all Rodgers has to do to keep the fierce New York media off his back is to rack up victories ... and Eli agreed.

"Yeah, everything works out if you win."

Manning and O'Hara were together for a really special reason -- they teamed up with The Children's Place to host more than 300 kids for a day of fun at Superdome Sports in Waldwick to kick off the brand's Spring collection.

There were football drills, giveaways, obstacle courses and Easter egg hunts ... and it was clear everyone had a blast.

Eli even showed he's still got a great arm in some throwing drills ... and gave some pointers to the youngins as well.

Eli also visited the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack earlier on Friday ... meeting with a bunch of amazing kids and handing out Easter baskets and autographs!!

Aaron Rodgers encountered plenty of issues while in isolation last week, but poopin' wasn't one of them ... the quarterback revealed Wednesday his dumps in the dark were "very, very smooth."

Apparently, that's not always the case on the four-night, no-light retreat ... because Aubrey Marcus said while with Rodgers on the latest episode of the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast," he struggled to know when it was time to finish wiping -- creating a pretty crappy situation.

But, when Rodgers opened up to Marcus about his own potty breaks -- he said he had no such problems.

"My dumps were super smooth," the quarterback said.

The Green Bay Packers star explained his diet -- which consisted mostly of giant salads -- created an ideal situation for being in a restroom without light.

"In my mind," he said, "they were all two-wipers. They were two-wipers and done."

He added, "There were multiple, though, that I didn't even think I needed a wipe."

As for Rodgers' real concerns on his trip -- his football future and potential retirement -- he said those topics required far more attention.

The 39-year-old said he spent a full day thinking about what life would be like if he retired. Then, he said, he spent the entire next day dreaming of how life would be if he continued playing.

He ultimately didn't come to a decision while away from human touch and light ... but he did say he now is going to feel way more at peace with whatever choice he ultimately makes.

Aaron Rodgers went from the darkness to some neon lights -- hitting up a trendy Colorado bar just days after emerging from his isolation retreat.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback bolted for the venue in Vail less than a week after spending a few days and nights in complete darkness in a room in Oregon. In video of the GB QB, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see the time away from sunlight and human touch didn't do any harm.

Rodgers dressed well for the night out with a group of friends at Chasing Rabbits' The Rabbit Hole ... playing Skee-Ball, Pop-A-Shot and even Twister.

Witnesses tell us Rodgers arrived around 9 PM with roughly 15 people in his crew ... including some very beautiful women. They drank champagne throughout the evening -- and we're told Rodgers seemed to be carefree, sharing laughs with his pals.

Eventually, the NFL superstar and co. headed off to a private room for dinner.

Darrelle Revis has some advice for Aaron Rodgers if he ends up leaving the Green Bay Packers for the New York Jets ... telling the future Hall of Fame QB "come in humble."

TMZ Sports spoke with Revis amid the rumors that Rodgers could be on the move ... and the former NFL cornerback seems receptive to #12 joining his old squad.

The Jets have emerged as a possible destination for Rodgers if he does, in fact, decide to continue his career elsewhere ... but the NFL world is waiting on the QB to figure out what he wants to do.

Revis -- who starred for the Jets from 2007-2012 -- admitted NYC is a tough market, but he says Rodgers would be able to "weather the storm," adding he can be successful right away.

37-year-old Revis said he thinks Rodgers -- who won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 2011 -- would be a tremendous addition to the weapons the Jets already have.

"I believe he has weapons at every position," said Revis, a 7x Pro Bowler. "As Jets fans. As Jet lovers. We can see some high-scoring games. We can see some big victories."

"Having a superstar quarterback in Rodgers, he can definitely put points on the board very quickly which would help the defense rest much better and they can be more explosive."

We also spoke to DR about Aaron's "darkness retreat," which he reportedly emerged from on Thursday, and Darrelle joked that Rodgers went to "Revis Island" for some alone time.

Aaron Rodgers is out of the darkness -- the NFL superstar ended his spiritual getaway on Wednesday ... and now, fans will patiently wait for him to announce his football future.

The 39-year-old spent the past few days completely disconnected from the world at Sky Cave Retreats in Oregon ... where he stayed in a 300-square-foot room that had zero natural lighting.

The facility's owner, Scott Berman, told ESPN Rodgers' room was partially underground and included a queen-sized bed, bathroom and a meditation mat.

Rodgers previously said he was going to spend four days and four nights off the grid and out of the light ... in an attempt to clear his head before deciding what to do with his career.

He explained to "The Pat McAfee Show" that the retreat wasn't solely about football ... as he's been wanting to have the experience for some time.

"I've had a number of friends who have done it and had some profound experiences and it's something that's been on my radar for a few years now and I felt like it'd be awesome to do regardless of where I was leaning after this season," Rodgers said earlier this month. "So, it's been on the calendar for months and months and months."

Of course, Rodgers -- who's slated to make nearly $60 million in 2023 -- could return to the Green Bay Packers, request a trade to a new team, or ride off into the sunset with Tom Brady in retirement.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Green Bay Packers star Allen Lazard is giving the G.O.A.T. title to Aaron Rodgers -- telling TMZ Sports the QB is the best pigskin-thrower ever!

"The greatest of all time," the 27-year-old said of his quarterback out at Super Bowl festivities last weekend. "Not might, no might. Drop the might. He's the G.O.A.T."

Of course, most consider Brady to be the best ever -- dude has seven Super Bowl rings, played until he was 45, and owns just about every passing record ever -- but Lazard told us he's going with his signal-caller over anyone else.

"The best person to ever pick up a football and throw the ball," he said. "I'll leave it at that."

Lazard might be a bit biased, he's been catching passes from Rodgers since 2018 -- and gushed over the QB's pinpoint accuracy when we asked him about playing with the signal-caller.

As for their future together, though, it's murky -- Lazard is a free agent ... and Rodgers is rumored to be a trade candidate this offseason.

Regardless, AL says he'll always be Rodgers' biggest supporter.

"Catching passes from him has, you know, it's been a highlight of my life, my career, and everything," Lazard said.

The wideout's teammate, Aaron Jones, however, told us at the SB LVII festivities he doesn't like the idea of Rodgers playing anywhere else, especially if it happens to be with the Las Vegas Raiders.

"He's my quarterback!" the running back said. "I don't want him to go nowhere."

Tiki Barber says Aaron Rodgers would likely struggle in New York if traded to the big city, but it's got little to do with football or the team's roster ... the Giants legend says AR couldn't handle the cold-blooded reporters!

Of course, Barber would know firsthand ... he spent 10 seasons with the G-Men in New York, where the pressure is incredibly high, and he received his fair share of criticism.

With talk of the Jets exploring the idea of trading for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Tiki isn't so sure it's a great idea.

"It just made me start to realize that if he is that sensitive, he gets upset that people, reporters, opinion makers, influencers, whoever, wanna talk about him, he is going to struggle in New York," Barber said on his show with Brandon Tierney on WFAN in NYC.

"I don't know if it's the right fit for him. I don't know if I want him in New York if this is going to be his reaction to things that don't matter."

Barber went on to say the Green Bay Packers quarterback brings the attention on himself, talking about isolation retreats and other things most people aren't accustomed to, and then gets upset when people talk about him.

"If Aaron Rodgers doesn't want people talking about him" Barber said, "He needs to stop talking!"

"We're gonna talk about it. you have to. It's our job to and for him to get offended by that, he's not gonna handle the intensity of the New York mediascape."

The New York Jets aren't the only organization interested in potentially bringing in the 4x MVP -- there are several other teams -- though, Rodgers has not even committed to playing the 2023 season.

Tom Brady won't join the chorus of people knockin' Aaron Rodgers' "darkness retreat" while he mulls over his football future ... saying we could all benefit from putting our phones down and enjoying some peace and quiet.

Brady defended Rodgers on his Let's Go! podcast with Jim Gray ... after the 4x NFL MVP and SB champ announced he'd be spending four days by himself as he mulls retirement.

"Everyone has their different processes they go through," Brady said, adding ... "I think we all need to get away from the TV a little bit more. I think we all need a little more nature and a little more silence and a little more peace."

"Everybody has their unique way to process the season."

Rodgers addressed criticism over the retreat, writing "be curious, not judgemental" on social media.

Of course, Rodgers is coming off a disappointing season by his standards ... his team missed the playoffs after dropping a must-win home game to the Lions at Lambeau Field in Week 18.

Brady said although Rodgers and the Packers struggled this season ... he doesn't want to see Aaron walk away from the sport because, simply put, the league is better with him.

"I hope he doesn't retire because like I said, I think the league needs good quarterbacks and he’s one of the greats," Brady said. "So if he retires it’ll be a sad day for the league. He’s an incredible player."

Brett Favre is dragging Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe to court ... suing the ultra-popular sports analysts after he says they made comments about him that were false and defamatory.

Favre filed the lawsuits earlier this week in Mississippi -- naming state auditor Shad White as a defendant in one of the suits as well.

The Green Bay Packers legend claims in the suits all three defamed him when talking about his alleged role in a welfare funds scandal in Mississippi.

Favre said McAfee made some of the remarks on his podcast, alleging the former NFL punter said the ex-QB was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi."

The Hall of Famer claimed Sharpe muttered defamatory comments on his FS1 show -- when he said Sharpe called Favre a "sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low."

As for White, Favre says the Mississippi official has "shamelessly and falsely" attacked him for months "in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre's celebrity to further his own political career."

FYI, White and his office were the ones who initially discovered the alleged misuse of welfare funds, claiming over $70 million intended to go toward the needy in Miss. actually went elsewhere -- including to Favre as well as projects closely associated with the Hall of Famer.

Favre, though, has denied any wrongdoing in the case ... insisting back in September, "I have done nothing wrong."

Favre is suing the trio for unspecified damages.

A spokesman for the State Auditor's office said Thursday in response to the suits that "everything Auditor White has said about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor."

Derek Carr out ... Aaron Rodgers in?

If No. 4 is definitively on his way to being traded from Vegas this offseason ... Raiders star Darren Waller is making it clear, he wants Rodgers to replace him.

In fact, the tight end is downright recruiting the Packers star to Nevada while under the assumption that Carr's a goner ... saying at Jay Glazer's Super Bowl party in Arizona this week, "If you come, it's gonna be lit!"

Waller added in his pitch that Las Vegas is a better place to be than Green Bay "in most cases."

"If he comes," Waller said of Rodgers, "I'd be a happy camper."

Of course, there's a lot of pieces that would have to fall into place to make Waller's wish come true. First, Carr would have to be traded. Then, Vegas would have to make a swap with the Packers for Rodgers.

But, Carr already appears to be on the verge of being moved -- he just met with the Saints this week. And, all signs seem to be pointing toward Rodgers being jettisoned from Green Bay too (that is, if his isolation retreat leads him to one more year of football).

Shawne Merriman doesn't quite get Aaron Rodgers' upcoming isolation retreat -- he says it "sounds like jail to me" -- but the ex-Chargers star tells TMZ Sports he isn't going to judge the QB for trying to better himself.

Both Merriman and former NFL star LaVar Arrington weighed in on the Green Bay Packers signal-caller's plans to lock himself in darkness for four days later this month ... and neither guy said it was something they'd get themselves into.

But, both former football players -- who were catching a meal together out at Super Bowl week in Arizona -- had no desire to shade the 39-year-old for it.

"I don't knock how anybody goes and find themselves," Merriman said. "Like, so, if you've got to go to a dark room for four days, go to the dark room. Make it six!"

Added Arrington, "Everybody has their own journeys in life. I'm not one to judge somebody on what their journey of enlightenment and self-understanding is."

Rodgers initially revealed his plans for the isolation trip on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday ... saying he's going to go to "a little house" in a few weeks and lock himself in a dark room.

The quarterback said the goal of it all is to come out with a more clear picture of whether or not he wants to play football again going forward.

Arrington admitted it sounds like "solitary confinement" to him ... but, again, he said he's all for it if it helps Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers has a message for those criticizing his plans to submerge himself in darkness before deciding his NFL future -- "Be curious, not judgmental."

Some folks have been scratching their heads after the Green Bay quarterback said on "The Pat McAfee Show" he will go on a 4-day isolation retreat to self-reflect before figuring out whether or not he will retire ... with former offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz sarcastically calling it odd the Packers aren't more involved in the situation.

"Weird the Packers aren’t consulting more with the guy who needs to go on a 4 day darkness retreat to figure out whether he wants to play football…," Schwartz said on Twitter.

AR12 got wind of the Super Bowl champ's bewilderment ... and instead of clapping back with negativity, he took the higher road.

"We are all on our own path, and doing things like this helps me find a greater sense of peace and love for life," Rodgers said. "Love and respect to you ❤️"

Rodgers explained his reasoning behind the retreat with McAfee on Tuesday ... saying the ultimate unplugging from the real world can help produce incredible results.

"It’s just sitting in isolation, meditation, dealing with your thoughts," Rodgers said. "It stimulates DMT, so there can be some hallucinations in there, but it’s just kind of sitting in silence, which most of us never do."

"We rarely even turn our phone off or put the blinds down to sleep in darkness. I’m really looking forward to it."

First, it was ayahuasca ... now Aaron Rodgers is turning to isolation retreats to help him make future decisions -- revealing Tuesday he intends to lock himself in darkness for four days this month while he contemplates retirement.

The Green Bay Packers star just revealed the eyebrow-raising plans on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... calling it "a darkness retreat" that he intends on embarking on "in a couple weeks."

Rodgers explained ... it all entails heading to "a little house" where he'll be completely by himself in a room. He said there's a slot where food will be delivered to him occasionally -- but outside of that, he intends on having no contact with anybody or anything for roughly 96 total hours.

"It's four nights of complete darkness," the 39-year-old said.

"You're not locked in. You can leave. If you can't do it, you can just walk out the door. But, it's a darkness retreat."

Rodgers, who famously used an ayahuasca trip to propel him to two MVP awards in his career, said there will be "no music, no nothing" while he's in isolation ... and the ultimate goal of it all is to come out with a clear decision about his NFL future.

"I've had a number of friends who have done it and had some profound experiences and it's something that's been on my radar for a few years now and I felt like it'd be awesome to do regardless of where I was leaning after this season," Rodgers said. "So, it's been on the calendar for months and months and months. And it's coming up in a couple weeks."

Rodgers, as part of a contract extension he signed with the Packers last year, is currently set to make $59.465 million if he plays in 2023.

Could an Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams reunion happen in Las Vegas?? The Raiders superstar had fans salivating after hinting at the possibility during a Q&A on Twitter ... and now, everyone is freaking out.

#17 dropped the bombshell tweet on Wednesday ... when he was asked, "Which neighborhood is @AaronRodgers12 moving to?"

Adams' response was short and to the point ... but it was certainly enough to send Twitter into a frenzy.

"Mine," the All-Pro receiver said.

Adams and Rodgers were one of the best duos in the league when they played together on the Packers from 2014-21 ... but split up after the receiver was traded to Vegas last season.

As rumors swirl that Rodgers could be the next piece to get traded out of Green Bay, the Raiders are certainly a potential landing spot now that Derek Carr has seemingly played his last down for the Silver and Black.

Adams also talked about a ton of other topics ... including his sneaker game, claiming he can get any pair of Jordans he wants.

He also said he misses the people in Green Bay -- but they can "keep the weather."

Allen Lazard's wallet won't be 10 Gs lighter after all ... the NFL rescinded the $10,609 fine it hit him with after he appeared to taunt Dolphins players in a Christmas Day game -- and the Packers star couldn't have been happier about it.

The league initially forced Aaron Rodgers' favorite target to shell out the big bucks after he counted to three following a vicious block that took out three Dolphins defenders on one play back in Green Bay's 26-20 win over Miami on Dec. 25.

Lazard delivered the hit -- which allowed his running back, Aaron Jones, to get loose -- and then celebrated afterward, pointing out how many bodies he knocked to the ground. The NFL didn't like it, and fined him days later.

But, the league changed its tune Friday ... saying in a letter to the receiver, "After reviewing the arguments and video presented to me during the appeal, I have concluded that the evidence does not warrant a fine for this violation."

The announcement was music to Lazard's ears ... who tweeted, "Guys, they aren’t going to fine me anymore for counting to 3!!!"