After months of speculation of whether or not Aaron Rodgers would be the Steelers' starting quarterback in 2025, ink on a contract and his presence in mandatory minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex solidified it.

Throughout the will-he-or-won't-he period, many wondered just how much he'd actually buy into the Steelers' pursuit of a seventh Super Bowl this season. In his first impression with the media and his new teammates, he did an awful lot to show he’s wholly invested in being a Steeler.

"I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life," Rodgers said following Tuesday's practice. "Some things improved a little bit where I felt like I can fully be all in here with the guys. I had great conversations with Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan throughout the entire process. It was good to get that done and get behind this."

Those personal issues Rodgers cited kept him away from making any full commitment to sign with any team in free agency. Despite having 20 NFL seasons under his belt, this offseason was the first time Rodgers was a free agent. He had the freedom to take care of everything he wanted to, all without feeling any obligation elsewhere.

"I didn't want to short change the guys and be signed but be elsewhere mentally or physically," Rodgers said. "So, until I could be here and be all in, I needed to take care of my business."

There it is again -- "all in." And, though Rodgers kept his meeting with the team Tuesday morning to himself, Zach Frazier said Rodgers told the team the same thing when they were behind closed doors.

How did it get to that point? And what does it look like?

First, it's beyond clear that Tomlin is a clear reason why Rodgers is even here. And, no, that's not meant to be in some sort of Tomlin-always-gets-what-he-wants light. It's because the way Tomlin handled the whole situation convinced Rodgers this was the right decision for him:

"A big attraction was Mike Tomlin," Rodgers said. "I've gone against him over the years. The way that the conversations went between him and I, between whenever it was in March or April and the last Sunday when I called him, was some of the coolest conversations I've had in the game. Definitely with a head coach. He's a big reason I'm here. I believe in him. And I'm excited to play for him."

That doesn't even do it justice. Despite having conversations with other organizations throughout the free agency process, Rodgers' talks with Tomlin made it clear that if he was going to play football in 2025, it was going to be for the Steelers.

"There wasn't any other option for me," he said. "It was here or not play."

Rodgers doesn't need to play. He doesn't have to play. He's done it all. He's won a Super Bowl. He's won four MVP awards. He's going to be voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. No matter what happens, he's already one of the 10 greatest quarterbacks of all time, if not in the top five. He's made hundreds of millions of dollars doing all of this. He could easily be happy on a beach in Malibu, Calif., doing whatever he pleases for the rest of his days.

But, he is here. So, the next question that has to be asked is ... why?

"I think that's what it is. I don't need it," Rodgers said. "For my ego, I don't need (to keep playing). A lot of decisions that I've made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling. The decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So, this was a decision that was best for my soul. I felt like being here with Coach T and the guys they got here and the opportunity here was the best for me. I'm excited to be here."

So, now that he is here, in the flesh, participating in practices, what does an "all in" approach look like for a 41-year-old quarterback that's accomplished everything in the game?

One big takeaway from Day 1 of mandatory minicamp is complete engagement, despite not participating in any team drills. Tomlin wants him to learn the offense before running team drills, which Rodgers said should take just a couple of weeks. With Arthur Smith's playbook having a lot of Shanahan concepts, similar ones he executed in Green Bay under Matt LaFleur, there's not too much to pick up.

"A lot of this stuff is stuff I've done before," Rodgers said. "But there's some new terms, new types of motion words and different stuff. So, I'm learning. I'm going to go through the individual stuff. That's what Mike wants me to do. I told Mike if he wants me to practice, I'll practice. He said he just wants me to stick with the individual (drills) until I got the offense down."

Rodgers isn't just standing off to the side, trying to fiddle with a new helmet that he admittedly doesn't like since the Schutt helmet he's always worn is no longer cleared for safety. During team drills, he engaged with the people you'd expect -- Smith, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Skylar Thompson, DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth, etc. But, he also cut it up with the likes of Jack Sawyer and others you might not expect.

When Smith would call in the plays, Rodgers would listen through his helmet then read it out as if he were in the huddle. Arth gave him a call sheet to follow along with so Rodgers could be right there with each play in each phase of practice.

Off the field, Rodgers has already taken Howard under his wing.

"Will's a good kid. We've got to talk a little bit," Rodgers said. "I thought he did really well today. He seems pretty bright. Not too big for him. Going through the progressions really well. I'm going to be with him every single day, every single meeting. I found my seat next to him today in the offensive meeting. Whether or not that sticks, I'm right next to Will Howard. So, I'm going to help him out as much as I can."

When minicamp breaks, Rodgers is already making plans to meet with other offensive players to have workouts during the near six-week gap between minicamp and training camp. Freiermuth said they've already talked about meeting, and Rodgers has plans in the works to get even more guys together.

"I've just gotta try and convince them to come out to Malibu, California," Rodgers said. "That's going to be a tough sell, I think."

It's one thing to come in and say all of the right things. But, to see the buy in firsthand is something else entirely.

We still don't know how it's going to work out. The Steelers want this to wind up with another Lombardi Trophy in the display case on the South Side. And, now that he's here, Rodgers does, too.

"It'd mean a seventh championship for the city, right?" Rodgers said in regards to what it'd mean for him to win another Super Bowl. "That'd be great."