Aaron Rodgers Says Doing Ayahuasca Made Him a Better Football Player — He's Looking for Peace

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is one of the NFL's most controversial players. He dabbles in some pretty alarming conspiracy theories, some of which are quite concerning. In March 2024, CNN's Pamela Brown said she recalled a time when Rodgers approached her at a Kentucky Derby after-party in 2013 to rail about the media's coverage of the Sandy Hook shooting. He apparently claimed the government was responsible and told another partygoer it never happened.

Rodgers has since denied saying that, but it wasn't the last time he allegedly trafficked in questionable information. He claimed he was immunized against COVID-19 via holistic practices. He once suggested that Jimmy Kimmel was on Jeffrey Epstein's client list. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Evidently, he loves ayahuasca and was willing to share his experience in a Netflix documentary.

It honestly feels like some of the most annoying people in the world are the ones who feel compelled to find themselves by way of ayahuasca. In December 2024, Netflix released Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, which details one of his ayahuasca retreats to Costa Rica. He was accompanied by Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer and a few members of his family. According to Rodgers, he has done ayahuasca a total of nine times and learns something new with every trip.

This particular adventure occurred during the 2023 offseason and was intended to help Rodgers return from an Achilles injury he suffered during his 2023 Jets debut against the Bills. "It’s the hardest medicine possible that I’ve tried," Rodgers says in the documentary. "It’s a deeply intense spiritual journey."

Fixing his Achilles was a short-term goal for Rodgers, who is ultimately looking to gain "deep healing on the self, the ego, and past trauma." He goes on to say that in order to achieve this, "You have to go to some deep places in the shadow of your own self." Here's the thing about drug use, medicinal or otherwise: It's not very enjoyable if you're not on drugs. Viewers witness Rodgers in a stupor multiple times throughout the doc.

Rodgers went on a series of ayahuasca trips in Peru during the 2020 and 2022 offseasons. Apparently, the NFL had no problem with this as the drug’s psychoactive component, DMT, wouldn't trigger a positive test result on the league’s substance abuse policy, per The Guardian. It should be noted that DMT is illegal in the United States.

In a conversation with NBC's Peter King (via The Guardian) in August 2022, Rodgers said ayahuasca helped him fall back in love with football though was quick to say it wasn't only because of the drug.

"It’s been therapy. It’s been meditation. It’s been changing habits that weren’t giving me any type of joy," he explained. He started eating better, taking care of himself more, and was far more gentle on himself than he used to be. "All those things have allowed me to look at each day with a little more joy."