Aaron Rodgers is not short. But he used to be short (for a quarterback), and it still rankles him immensely, and just about the worst thing you can say to him is that he looks smaller in person. 60 Minutes's Sunday profile of Rodgers caught him at a fan meet-and-greet, and when one unlucky contest winner used the magic words, Rodgers entered sulk overdrive.


The loudest reaction from Packer fans was that it was a prank, that Rodgers and his teammates who spoke about how sensitive their quarterback's feelings are were playing a practical joke on viewers and CBS. In light of Rodgers's sense of humor, it's plausible (though that sort of sucks for the spurned fan who wasn't in on it). But now I'm not so sure: Rodgers was not happy with how CBS portrayed him.

"When you open up your life for four months and allow them to have access to your family and your friends and events, it's always interesting to see what comes out," Rodgers said. "I just felt like the editing of the piece could have been done in a way that was maybe a lot more respectful of myself."


It has to be the height thing, right? There wasn't anything else remotely negative in the piece, and even that bit didn't put him in a bad light so much as it made him human. So of course 60 Minutes was going to include it. Rodgers is also pissed that a crew filmed him at a charity function (for Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer), but none of that footage made it into the show.

"For them to not even show really any of the content from that night, any of the kids, to not say anything about the fund, what they do for kids with cancer, I think that was the thing that was most disappointing about the piece."

As influential as 60 Minutes is, it's still hard for them to book an in-demand personality like Rodgers. Making himself available for multiple days over a span of months is a lot to ask, and he'd want to know what's in it for him. The most common pitch from a producer to a celebrity, particularly an athlete, is that the piece will highlight their charity work and give much-needed attention to the nonprofit. I don't doubt for a second that 60 Minutes led Rodgers to believe they'd feature his work with MACC, and we know they filmed it—they just didn't include it. In TV booking negotiations, like with NFL contracts, very little is guaranteed.

Aaron Rodgers of Packers upset by '60 Minutes' piece [NFL.com]