The Green Bay Packers are going to be one of the most exciting teams in the NFL this season. While they started off 2023 slow and inconsistent, quarterback Jordan Love found his rhythm and ended up with a 64.1% completion percentage, 4,159 yards passing, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 96.1 passer rating. In the final 10 games of the season alone, he had 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions with a passer rating over 108.
Of course, Love’s overall performance in 2023 was fantastic news for the Packers organization, who first took a gamble by drafting him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and then by trading away future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in order to let him play.
Fortunately, all of the risks they took in regards to Love have paid off so far. However, there is one final risk that they need to take before training camp starts: extend him to a massive contract.
The Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love Have Seen Other Quarterbacks Sign Massive Extensions This Offseason
The market for quarterbacks is certainly exploding all over the NFL. Prior to the NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons gave Kirk Cousins a four-year $180 million contract even though he is coming off of a torn Achilles in 2023. While he is a Pro Bowl level quarterback, he is also aging, and no one knows for sure how good he will be coming off of an injury that has ended the careers of other players.
Most notably, the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars each gave massive contract extensions to the quarterbacks that they already have. Jared Goff got a four-year $212 million deal from the Lions, a contract that will pay him $53 million per year.
Trevor Lawrence got an even bigger deal, a five-year contract worth $275 million. The $55 million that he will make annually is tied with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for the highest annual salary in the NFL.
When the offseason first began, many thought that Love would be paid somewhere around $46-48 million a year. Now the growing sentiment is that his annual salary will be well over $50 million.
Former Green Bay Packers Offensive Lineman Mark Tauscher Thinks Jordan Love Should Get as Much as Trevor Lawrence
Recently, former Packers offensive lineman Mark Tauscher made an appearance on WTMJ. During his interview, he expressed his thoughts regarding the upcoming Love extension and how much the star quarterback should make:
“You aren’t paying for what you’ve done in the past. You’re going to pay for what you expect to happen into the future. Jordan Love finished the 2023 season fantastic, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. I just don’t see how there would be any way Jordan Love’s team is going to be looking at this saying he’ll take one dollar less than what Lawrence got.”
As mentioned, Lawrence is going to be making $55 million over the next five seasons. For the Packers, signing Love to such a deal now would be prudent.
For one thing, they have the salary cap space to get that kind of deal done. Secondly, the price of good-to-great quarterbacks is only going to go up. In a year or two, Love making $50+ million a year is going to look like a steal.
Look at Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes: he got a ten-year $450 million a few years ago and at the time was the NFL’s highest paid quarterback. Now, he’s the tenth-highest paid quarterback and will soon fall out of the top-ten once Love, Tua Tagovailoa, and Dak Prescott sign their next deals.
Indeed, signing Love now is what is best for Green Bay both right away and for the future.
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