The Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers have concluded their most recent offseason tango, which was also likely their final one.
According to a report from the NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Tuesday, Green Bay is putting its money where its mouth is by agreeing with Rodgers, who is 38 years old, on a four-year agreement worth $200 million, including $153 million in guaranteed money. Green Bay is putting its money where its mouth is. Rodgers will have a lower salary cap number for 2022 as a result of this deal, which also makes him the player with the highest annual compensation in the history of the National Football League.
This last point is of utmost significance for determining whether or not Green Bay will be victorious in the future season. Because Green Bay was almost $26 million over the cap, and because Rodgers’ current contract accounted for a cap number of $46.6 million in 2022, it was an extremely difficult situation for the team to keep receiver Davante Adams. Now that Aaron Rodgers’ new, lower cap figure has been put in, Green Bay has the ability to place the franchise tag on Davante Adams before the deadline of 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. According to Rapoport, the Packers are anticipated to do this.
The information of Rodgers’ new contract was initially shared by Pat McAfee, host of “The Pat McAfee Show.” After some time, the quarterback announced through Twitter that he “will be playing for the Packers” during the forthcoming season and that he is “very excited to be back.”
The aftermath of his transaction will obviously have further repercussions than that. The humongous extension implies that Rodgers has effectively manipulated his way out of a forced succession plan involving 2020 first-round selection Jordan Love. This strategy would have been similar to how he once succeeded Brett Favre, and it would have involved Love. Back then, of course, Brett Favre wasn’t ready to give up his cleats, and he eventually moved to New York and Minneapolis before calling it a career. It’s pretty evident that Aaron Rodgers won’t be hanging up his cleats anytime soon, either.
Rodgers spent the offseason prior to the previous season sowing seeds of discontent within the media before making amends with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst in time for Rodgers to return for the 2021 season. It is evident that Rodgers did not want for this to be the conclusion. A second consecutive season as NFL MVP followed, giving Rodgers about as much leverage as possible, especially considering the fact that the Packers once again failed to reach the Super Bowl by losing to the 49ers in the Divisional Round. Rodgers’s leverage increased even further when he won the award for a second consecutive season.
According to what Gutekunst has stated, the only way for them to win right now is with Rodgers at the helm. If Aaron Rodgers was going to remain with the Packers, he needed to have some sort of safety net in place. Oh, and he also needed a salary hike, since everyone enjoys getting more money, and winning two MVP awards in a row certainly warrants one.
The announcement of the move put an end to the rumors that Aaron Rodgers would join forces with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos reversed their decision to pursue a partnership with Rodgers within a few hours of Rodgers’ announcement that he would be making a blockbuster trade to acquire Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. It also unlocks the rest of the grid of teams in the NFL that are shopping for deals involving quarterbacks, which frees up the flow of traffic just in time for free agency, which is just a few days away.
Just what does all of this entail in terms of Love? If Aaron Rodgers were to fulfill the terms of his contract and play for the Packers for the whole four years, then the team would need Love to sign a new deal in order for him to continue doing so. Maybe Green Bay decides to go all in on winning right now and deals the unproven Love in exchange for some assets. Or, alternatively, he stays still and bides his time.
Regardless, Green Bay has made it abundantly obvious what its plans are by releasing this information: the Packers are going to do all in their power to get over the hump with Rodgers leading the way. And they have no intention of creating yet another messy breakup with a renowned member of the franchise.
