One of the most highly anticipated moves of the Green Bay Packers offseason is the eventual contract extension of starting quarterback Jordan Love. After buying out his fifth-year option last season, the Packers and Love became able to sign a contract extension earlier this week, but have not done so.
There are multiple reasons why this has not happened yet, not the least of which is the likely ongoing negotiations between the team and Love’s representatives. For months, though, there has been speculation among fans and analysts regarding what the Packers will end up paying their new franchise quarterback.
One former NFL agent believes that Love’s predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, will have a lot to do with that number.
How Aaron Rodgers Will Affect Jordan Love’s Contract with the Green Bay Packers
In a very interesting article on CBS Sports written by former NFL agent Joel Corey, an explanation was given as to how Rodgers’ first contract extension with the Packers in 2008 could impact Love’s first contract extension in 2024.
Corey writes explains that Rodgers’ first extension, a five-year deal that was worth $12.7 million per season, made him the fourth or fifth-highest paid quarterback in the NFL at the time. (He says “fourth or fifth” depending on if the reader wants to include Michael Vick’s $13 million salary because the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was suspended indefinitely at the time).
He also argues that Rodgers had less experience than Love when he signed his extension. The Packers and Rodgers inked their deal in November of 2008, about halfway through the season. The future Hall of Fame quarterback had yet to complete a full season under center, yet the Packers were willing to give him top-five quarterback money.
Love, of course, has completed a full season as the Packers starter. Corey writes:
“Based on the precedent set with a young Rodgers, the Packers should at least be willing to make Love the NFL’s fourth- or fifth-highest paid player. At a minimum, Love should be in the $48.5 million-to-$49 million-per-year neighborhood by approximating the midpoint of the league’s fourth- and fifth-highest paid player.”
Now, that is just how Rodgers’ first contract extension could affect Love’s negotiations. Corey goes on to argue that the last extension, signed the year before the trade to the New York Jets, could as well.
How Aaron Rodgers’ Last Contract with the Green Bay Packers Could Make Jordan Love the Highest Paid Player in the NFL
As many NFL fans, especially Packers fans know, the Packers gave Rodgers a three-year $150 million extension after he won his fourth NFL MVP Award in 2021. At the time, many thought it was meant to appease the disgruntled Rodgers, whose relationship with the front office had deteriorated since they drafted Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
In the first year of this $150 million deal, Rodgers had one of his worst statistical seasons, throwing for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, including the throw that effectively ended the Packers’ season in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions with a playoff berth on the line.
Corey argues that, not only will Love’s agents use the first Rodgers extension in their negotiations with the Packers, they will use the last one and Rodgers’ performance in 2022 compared to Love’s in 2023:
“It wouldn’t be surprising for Love’s camp to not only target more than this deal, but to insist on their client becoming the league’s highest-paid player, like Rodgers. The Packers will surely push back on this idea noting that Rodgers was coming off back-to-back NFL MVP seasons when he received the deal.
“Love’s case could be bolstered because as a first-year starter he outperformed Rodgers during his last season in Green Bay. The chart below outlines their production.”
As he notes, Love’s agents could make a credible case for their client, the Packers’ new starting quarterback, to be the highest paid player in the NFL. In order for that to happen, he would have to get a deal worth more than $51 million.
Will the Packers pay that much? That remains to be seen. However, things could get expensive in Green Bay pretty soon.
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