Back in May, everything was coming up Aaron Rodgers. He’d just been traded from his longtime team, the Green Bay Packers, to the New York Jets. He was enjoying all the perks of his new life in the big city: courtside seats at Madison Square Garden; Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift concerts at his new home stadium of Metlife; even an appearance at the Tony Awards. When we met that month—on the set of a photo shoot for his watch partner Zenith, as Rodgers sat in a makeup chair having his hair and nails attended to—he hadn’t yet suffered the Achilles injury that will presumably sideline him for the rest of the season (or not!?). He had, however, just designed a new watch for Zenith, who he signed with in 2021, marking the all-important ascension from grizzled face of the brand to collaborator. It’s the first-ever limited edition of Zenith’s flagship Chronomaster Sport. Rodgers called designing a watch a “a lifelong dream,” in a press release.

That dream was briefly delayed because of COVID, which made it impossible for Rodgers to go to Geneva and visit Zenith’s factory. When he finally made it, he badgered employees with so many questions about their craft he was asked to leave because the manufacturer was closing for the day. “[Malcolm] Gladwell talks about 10,000 hours to become a master, and I just have so much respect for that, especially something I don’t know and I don’t understand, that I don’t have that skillset,” he said, as his hair was being shaped into a meticulous side sweep.

The resulting watch is a refreshing addition to the typically conservative Chronomaster line, which shares its black-gray-navy palette with the wardrobes of most sitting US senators. The new Rodgers watch is a vibrant green—not Jets nor Packers green, but a nod to both his teams. “Most of the conversations happened when I was still a Packer, and I still thought I was going to be a Packer or retire,” he said. “It works for honoring the old 18 years in Green Bay and also the excitement about the future in New York.”

Rodgers spoke with GQ about transitioning to New York, designing his first-ever watch, and how making a watch is like playing football.