If he's smart he'd see it as an opportunity to skyrocket his brand to global recognition. He doesn't gain anything by softballing Biden.

I completely disagree. The power of the media and shaping public opinion is entirely in the hands of the left. If Rogan doesn't treat Biden with kid gloves, they'll destroy his brand. Especially on the global field, to people who haven't heard of him. They'll frame him as a closet far-right "hatemonger", or they'll say he has no spine and buckled against "Trump's brutal way of speaking". They'll make up shit about how he is in cahoots with the Republicans. On and on, we've seen this before.

Also, this is beside the point, but I doubt he's even a centrist. In private, he probably has normie-left opinions if he has any at all. For him to even consider not giving in to the DNC in that debate, he'd have to be at least somewhat pro-Trump. That's the kind of political climate we're in.