So much for Aaron Rodgers going to Denver or anywhere else. He’s agreed to a new contract with the Packers.
Reports suggest it’s a four-year deal worth $200 million, with over 75 percent of the money guaranteed.
The Packers used a first-round pick on Jordan Love in 2020, but he now becomes nothing more than an insurance policy. His four-year rookie contract expires after the 2023 season, so there’s a chance the Packers would consider trading him. That would get a lot easier if Love shows sign of progress in the preseason this year; Love wasn’t impressive in his lone start last year (a loss at Arrowhead).
Love probably would need to show something (in either the preseason or in some fill-in starts the next two years) for any team to be willing to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
As for Rodgers, he becomes the league’s highest-paid player, but he’s arguably worth more. He’s won four MVP awards, and he could have landed more on the open market, had he been available. Kirk Cousins has a $45 million cap figure this year; by that measure, Rodgers is worth a lot more than $50 million.
Strictly by the numbers, Rodgers belongs in the conversation of the great quarterbacks. Six times in his career, he’s finished with over 30 more touchdown passes than interceptions. The rest of the league combined has done that only 11 times (Tom Brady has done it three times, while Peyton Manning and Patrick Mahomes have each pulled it off twice).
| 30 MORE TOUCHDOWNS THAN PICKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pct | Pass/G | TD | Int | Diff |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 68% | 342 | 55 | 10 | 45 |
| 2020 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 71% | 269 | 48 | 5 | 43 |
| 2007 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 69% | 300 | 50 | 8 | 42 |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 68% | 310 | 45 | 6 | 39 |
| 2004 | Peyton Manning, Ind. | 68% | 285 | 49 | 10 | 39 |
| 2018 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 66% | 319 | 50 | 12 | 38 |
| 2014 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 66% | 274 | 38 | 5 | 33 |
| 2016 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 66% | 277 | 40 | 7 | 33 |
| 2021 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 69% | 257 | 37 | 4 | 33 |
| 2011 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 71% | 342 | 46 | 14 | 32 |
| 2020 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 66% | 316 | 38 | 6 | 32 |
| 2010 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 66% | 244 | 36 | 4 | 32 |
| 2012 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 67% | 268 | 39 | 8 | 31 |
| 1984 | Dan Marino, Mia. | 64% | 318 | 48 | 17 | 31 |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 70% | 309 | 38 | 7 | 31 |
| 2021 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 67% | 313 | 43 | 12 | 31 |
| 2019 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 66% | 208 | 36 | 6 | 30 |
—Ian Allan