As Aaron Rodgers navigates what he says will be his final NFL season, Jackson Bonneville will be documenting all of it. Not as a journalist or pundit. Not as a documentarian or slick marketing producer. But as Rodgers himself.
The 23-year-old Ashland, Wisc., native has built an audience of nearly 800,000 followers across his “Rogers Realm” accounts on Instagram and TikTok by imitating the veteran quarterback’s most viral moments, past and present. His videos have tens of millions of views.
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From fist pumps and touchdown dances, to frustrated gestures and animated growls, Bonneville displays Rodgers’ multitudes with uncanny accuracy that rivals a Marcelo Hernandez impersonation on “Saturday Night Live.”
In the process, his pages have become an outlet for a generation of fans who grew up idolizing the four-time MVP to reminisce and show appreciation for a career that’s likely to end at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Among those fans are Rodgers’ own Pittsburgh Steelers teammates, who’ve increasingly embraced Bonneville’s presence around the team. They’ve filmed content on the field with him following training camp practices and Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. And on one warm evening, they invited him to join them on a night out at a local ice cream parlor, where his bit recreating Rodgers’ pre-snap hijinks had several of them in stitches.
“There is zero reason on the face of the Earth for him to give SH about me, and he chooses to, for whatever reason. And he’s treated me super kindly and done a lot for me,” Bonneville said in a recent interview with USA Today. “He likes my videos and he’s always gesturing over to me when I’m at practice these last couple weeks and messing around, coming over and talking.”
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He started the pages in 2023 after a friend sent him a video from another Rodgers imitator and believed Bonneville could do better. His very first video got over a million views, at which point he made it the goal of the project to meet Rodgers.
Now entering his 22nd season, Rodgers has been in the background of practically all of Bonneville’s life. One of his earliest sports memories is watching Rodgers lift the Lombardi Trophy after beating the Steelers in the 2011 Super Bowl.
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The outpouring of support for Bonneville’s work has taught him that he’s far from alone in his feelings of nostalgia and admiration for a player who’s become a generational touchstone. Even for some who were not previously fans.
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He said he gets “thousands” of comments and direct message from Bears, Vikings, Packers and Steelers fans who say the videos and interactions with Rodgers change the way they view him.
“I introduced him to my buddies last week, and he treated them great,” Bonneville said “I talked to [receiver] Ben Skowronek‘s parents yesterday. I hung out with them for like four hours at practice, and all they had was just the best things to say about Aaron. Which is funny, because when you listen to anybody who doesn’t know him talk, they just say the polar opposite. But anybody who’s ever known him, including me, has nothing but great things to say. And the way he handles his life, knowing that a lot of people think things about him that aren’t true, is a thing to admire.”
Bonneville bristles at the narratives Rodgers’ critics hit him with most often, specifically the COVID vaccine skepticism he’s expressed.
As recently as a couple of weeks ago, he was still clashing with Dr. Anthony Fauci publicly during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show.
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“How he handled everything, and how he was – in my opinion – one of the only athletes to not sell out, made me respect him even more,” Bonneville said. “He had a little bit more personality and stood for what he believed in, whether anybody agrees with them or disagrees with them. He says what he thinks, and he has his own thinking and his own opinions. And regardless of what mine are or what anybody else’s are, he’s a good example to go off of in terms of how to really go about your life and your thinking and and things of that nature.”
So what happens to Rodgers Realm once the namesake has departed the NFL?
Bonneville has some ideas for some other channels and accounts. Some of the personal anecdotes he’s shared have resonated with followers, so that’s one angle. And he’s learned a lot about the business of content creation to the point that he feels comfortable about whatever’s next.
He’s also spent the summer playing for the Chili Peppers of Cosmic Baseball, a glow-in-the-dark offshoot of the Banana Ball movement that dazzles fans with bioluminescent bats, balls and uniforms.
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For now, though, he’s enjoying one final ride with his “favorite athlete, favorite celebrity ever.”
He likes the Steelers’ chances to make some noise in the AFC, even with most experts projecting them to be a fringy playoff team, at best. He loved the hiring of Mike McCarthy and feels the veteran coach doesn’t get enough credit for evolving with the times in the NFL. And he sees the Steelers’ skill position group – led by DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Jaylen Warren and Pat Freiermuth – as among the best Rodgers has played with in the latter stages of his career.
“I’ve kind of got stamped as a Steelers fan now because of obviously all the videos and the content and the players loving me,” he said. “So, I mean, I’m glad that they’re in different conference than the Packers because I really, really do love the Steelers and seeing the players actually, you know, care about me has been crazy because there’s no reason for them to. But they do. They think it’s funny and they love me and they walk up to me and douse me in a Gatorade bath the other day after their practice.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers imitator Jackson Bonneville continues to reach millions before swan song
