When longtime Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suggested after Sunday’s NFC Championship loss that his own future in Green Bay is “uncertain,” some wondered if he simply preferred to split from the organization that drafted his likely successor early in 2020. That may still be true, but according to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, Rodgers’ desire right now is to remain with the Packers … on a new contract. With the 2021 offseason now underway in Green Bay, Florio reports the presumptive MVP is after a pay raise.
“Rodgers was sending a message to the team with his post-game comments,” Florio wrote Tuesday. “The message likely had multiple tentacles.” One of them, he added, is that the veteran isn’t satisfied with his current deal.
“If Rodgers officially asks for a new contract,” Florio explained, “he’ll definitely get one thing: Clarity as to where he stands. A new deal means renewed vows. No new deal means the clock will still tick toward a potential, if not inevitable, divorce … While Rodgers may want more (especially as it relates to efforts to improve the team), one thing he wants — and deserves — is a new contract.”
Rodgers, 37, just signed a four-year, $134 million extension with the Packers in 2018, and he’s under contract with Green Bay through 2023. But his $33.5 million per-year average ranks fifth among all QBs, tied with the Rams‘ Jared Goff and just ahead of inferior starters like the Vikings‘ Kirk Cousins ($33M) and the Eagles‘ Carson Wentz ($32M). After one of the best seasons of his career and two straight NFC Championship bids, Rodgers could be angling for a salary closer to those of market-leading QBs like the Texans‘ Deshaun Watson ($39M) or Seahawks‘ Russell Wilson ($35M).
The Packers, for what it’s worth, don’t seem to be entertaining the possibility of Rodgers playing elsewhere in 2021. (Green Bay could save $5.5M in 2021 by trading the perennial Pro Bowler, should he actually request a move.) Coach Matt LaFleur said after Sunday’s game that Rodgers “better be back” and remains “the leader” of the team, and team president Mark Murphy reportedly said Monday there’s no question Green Bay will retain its star QB.
“We’re not idiots,” he said. “Aaron Rodgers will be back.”
