For all of the incredible matchups featuring Patrick Mahomes over the last seven seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, there’s been one showdown that’s proved elusive for various reasons. And whatever hope the NFL had to highlight an Mahomes versus Aaron Rodgers battle, that’s now likely out the window.

With Rodgers’ announcement that 2025 will be his final NFL season, and with the Kansas City Chiefs not scheduled to face the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, fans are very unlikely to get their head-to-head contest between two future Hall of Famers.

Rodgers made his intentions clear this week on The Pat McAfee Show, saying, “I’m pretty sure this is it. That’s why we just did the one-year deal. Steelers didn’t need to put any extra years on that or anything,” said Rodgers.

Fate will keep Mahomes-Rodgers from ever happening—unless something crazy happens.

While his personality might be divisive off the field, Rodgers is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever play the position, with 480 career touchdown passes, nearly 60,000 passing yards, four MVP trophies, and a Super Bowl ring to his name. By 2030, we’ll be watching his induction ceremony.

Mahomes, meanwhile, has already superseded Rodgers’ legacy with three Lombardi Trophies of his own, with three Super Bowl MVP awards to show for it, alongside all the requisite hardware that comes with personal achievements and accolades.

It’s easy to see why even the most casual NFL fans have been clamoring for a Mahomes-Rodgers showdown for quite some time. Yet somehow, fate has intervened to keep the pair apart in any on-field conflict.

In 2019, Rodgers led the Packers to a 31-24 win at Arrowhead in a game featuring Matt Moore as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback due to a knee injury for Mahomes. Then in 2021, the Chiefs hosted the Packers again, but this time it was Rodgers who missed the game due to COVID, leaving Jordan Love to face Mahomes in a 13-7 Kansas City win.

When Rodgers joined the New York Jets in 2023, the Chiefs were set to visit New York early in the season in a highly anticipated primetime affair. But, like most hopes related to the Jets, Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles just four snaps into his season. The third and final scheduled tilt featured Mahomes against Zach Wilson instead, who, to his credit, looked a lot like Aaron Rodgers that game.

Rodgers is back for one more season, and the NFL schedule offers no Chiefs-Steelers matchup in 2025. A postseason clash would be the only possible path forward, but even that would require a series of unlikely dominoes to fall, not to mention full health for both teams.

It’s a shame that’s the case. A Rodgers-Mahomes duel would’ve been a showcase of two generational quarterbacks, and any potential meeting would have felt like a true event given how the pair have somehow avoided one another in head-to-head bouts. Maybe the postseason will yield such a surprise, but Rodgers’ announcement likely cements the fact that it was never meant to be.