It helps to think of Aaron Rodgers as the uncle at the family cookout who always hates everything and has to tell everyone who doesn’t make it to the tree house in time. The meat: inedible. The man at the grill: an idiot. The uncle wonders why he came at all, everything is stupid here. All you can do is calm him down with the finest steak and he’ll shut up for a few minutes.
That’s exactly what the Green Bay Packers did when they signed Rodgers to a new contract that should break all records: there’s talk of up to $200 million in salary over four years, $153 million of which is guaranteed, and the rest bonus payments. So 50 million dollars per season, no one in the US football league NFL has ever earned that much. Rodgers called the numbers “inaccurate,” merely confirming he would stay with the Packers.
Apart from that, the interesting thing about this contract is above all the structure: The Packers, despite throwing so much money at Rodgers, should have even more money available for the coming season that they can spend on other players; they should also be among the title candidates again. This is a sport-economic balancing act that probably only works in US sport.
In the end, the signs were always pointing to separation
Rodgers, 38, has been with the Packers since he turned pro 17 years ago, winning the Super Bowl with them in 2010; after the last two seasons he was voted the most valuable player in the league. The Packers’ record over the past three years – 39 wins, ten losses – is the best in NFL history – of course for a club that has not reached the Super Bowl in this period.
This was the focus of Rodgers’ criticism, which he made in the summer of 2020: the franchise should kindly discuss the strategic direction with him. But no, once again nobody listened to him. At the end of the season before last, he boycotted training sessions and told Packers staff he never wanted to play for the club again. The club therefore signed quarterback Jordan Love as a possible successor in the first round of the talent exchange. Rodgers returned to the Packers at the last moment, had a great season – and after the surprising playoff defeat to the San Francisco 49ers, he said that he really didn’t feel like working for a selection in the rebuilding. Again the signs pointed to separation.
But: Solvent employers who are vying for the title and are looking for an expensive playmaker like Rodgers are rare. And the quarterback happens to hold the most significant individual position across all team sports; you can’t win much without a skilled playmaker. The Packers know that too.
Only: Did you have to shower Rodgers with so much money that is then missing for other key players? A quarterback can’t win the Super Bowl alone. And Rodgers has been known to speak out publicly about all sorts of things — and in doing so, attract a lot of attention. An example: He called himself “immunized” last summer, and when he tested positive for Covid on November 3, it came out that he did not mean the corona vaccination, but one that was not recognized by the NFL or the Department of Health Alternative. His reaction: Oh, he’s constantly misunderstood.
A career in green and yellow: Aaron Rodgers has been with the Packers since he turned pro 17 years ago.
(Photo: Kirsten Schmitt/Zuma Wire/Imago)
In any case, it’s like this: The architecture of Rodgers’ new contract would actually save the Packers money in the coming season. Of the $50 million that Rodgers is theoretically entitled to, the quarterback would initially only receive a guaranteed share. This is made up, among other things, of the new base salary and a bonus for the signature – which in turn is divided mathematically over several contract years so that it puts less of a strain on the team’s annual salary cap. The Packers could push Rodgers’ salary for the coming season below the $46 million that his previous contract would have promised him.
Or to put it another way: The Packers have a big bill with Rodgers new contract – but they only have to pay it later.
So they can now also tag passport recipient Davante Adams with the so-called “franchise tag” and bind them to them for another season. Adams would receive just under $20 million under the regulations. Only: If the Packers still manage to negotiate a long-term contract with him, they could also lower his salary for the coming season – and sign another pass recipient for Rodgers.
So the Packers handed Rodgers the tongs, so to speak. They’ve done everything they can to clinch the title next season, anything less than a Super Bowl win would be a disappointment to the people of Green Bay who, an exception to all the billionaire NFL franchise owners, own the Packers are. And Rodgers, who has now got everything he wanted, also knows that it’s always better to be at home.