Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press
After leading the Green Bay Packers to a 13-3 record and an NFC Championship Game berth this season, quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly desires some clarity and a commitment from the team.
According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, Rodgers wants a new contract on the heels of a dominant regular season that will almost certainly net him his third career NFL MVP award.
The news comes after Rodgers expressed uncertainty about his future after Green Bay’s ouster from the playoffs at the hands of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: “[The Packers have] a lot of guys’ futures that are uncertain—myself included. That’s what’s sad about it, most, getting this far. Obviously, it’s going to be an end at some point, whether we make it past this one or not, but just the uncertainty’s tough and finality of it all.”
Florio noted that Rodgers is under contract through 2023 but is due to make just $23.2 million in 2021, $25.5 million in 2022, and $25.5 million in 2023, which are low numbers compared to what most top quarterbacks will make during that stretch.
Rodgers is fifth among NFL quarterbacks in “new-money value” at $33.5 million per year behind Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Rodgers is 37, he is playing better than ever, as evidenced by his 70.7 percent completion percentage, 4,299 yards, 48 touchdowns and five interceptions during the regular season.
Rodgers’ elite performance in 2020 came after the Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
That pick led to speculation that Rodgers’ days in Green Bay could be numbered, but after he turned in one of the best quarterback seasons ever, it is difficult to envision Green Bay would part ways with him anytime soon.
The Packers have gone 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons, and although they have fallen short of the Super Bowl each time, they are agonizingly close to winning it all, which suggests they will do anything possible to run it back in 2021 and beyond.
Giving Rodgers a new contract would be an ideal way to show long-term commitment to him.
It could also be a good way to lower the team’s current salary-cap number on Rodgers and free more money to sign key free agents such as running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, cornerback Kevin King and center Corey Linsley.
If the Packers can find a way to bring back largely the same team they had in 2020, they have a solid chance to enter the 2021 campaign as the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
