Chairman Saw ‘Really Good Progress’ from Aaron Rodgers; ‘The Team Is Definitely Better, There’s No Question’
This is one in a series of articles that will also appear in the New York Jets 2024 Yearbook, which will be published later this summer.
Robert Wood Johnson IV has worn many hats over the years in his endeavors that have ranged from private investment to political fundraising to his four years serving as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom to philanthropy in the fights against lupus and diabetes.
But it’s coming up on the time of the year when Johnson says it’s all about “football, football and football.”
Johnson, as the Jets’ chairman and CEO since purchasing the club in 2000, often wears the hat as the Jets’ No. 1 fan. And he sees a lot going on this year that has the possibility of being fan-tastic.
“I’m pretty impressed,” Johnson told reporters this offseason. “I think we have been very attentive to what we need, and I think we have some great players. The team is definitely better, there’s no question.”
Last year, Johnson and all followers of the Green & White were planning to see an energized Jets team led by Aaron Rodgers. But with the quarterback’s quick injury exit, the season didn’t unfold as envisioned.
But Rodgers returned to action in the offseason program, and ARod/Jets 2.0 is preparing to fulfill the promise of 2023. And Woody is, as always, brimming with optimism.
“I know Aaron is excited to be back. He is roaring to go,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be really interesting to watch now. It’s going to be new and different, I think, for him.”
Johnson and the Jets received another ambitious schedule from the NFL to take advantage of the interest in Rodgers and the team. And besides the six primetime games in the first 11 weeks, there is also a return to the Ambassador’s home away from home for four years, for the Jets’ third London game since 2015, this time playing “at” the Vikings on Oct. 6.
“Yes, I look forward to playing in London. It’ll be good,” Johnson said about a return to the U.K. and the NFL’s increasingly ambitious international schedule that this year includes games in Germany and Brazil. “Absolutely, we have to share the wealth.”
And one way the Jets can spread the capital of NFL football is by bringing that exciting product that everyone’s heard about but hasn’t seen a lot of yet to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as well as to MetLife Stadium and all the road venues the Green & White will play at this season. Johnson is looking forward to that.
“We want to win games,” he said, “and I think we’ve made some really good progress in putting a team together to make that happen.”
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