The Green Bay Packers drama with their star quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues after initial reports had Rodgers signing a four-year, $200 million deal that would have made him the highest-paid player in the NFL on a per-year basis.
While Rodgers did confirm he was returning for another year in Green Bay, he disputed reports of a mega-contract being signed by him with the Pack.
Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I “signed”. I’m very excited to be back 💪🏼 #year18❤️
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) March 8, 2022
With the terms of a contract for Rodgers unknown, and the Packers currently looking to be over the cap for 2022, there are some ways the Pack can mess up things with Rodgers.
Rodgers Wants Help, But Will He Get It?
Last year during the NFL preseason, Rodgers expressed his concern with the Packers not retaining players that he called “core players to our foundation.”
Rodgers gave a long list of players that core for the Packers, including Clay Matthews, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, T.J. Lang, Micah Hyde, and Casey Hayward.
To Rodgers, these players were “high-character guys, many of them whom weren’t offered a contract at all or were extremely low-balled.”
While those players are top-tier players in the NFL, Rodgers could shoulder some of the blame for the low-ball offers these players received.
Former Packers WR Greg Jennings blasted Aaron Rodgers as "a very selfish guy" in a four-minute long rant on Friday morning | by @PetersenWill https://t.co/8Y9H4hEi8i
— Denver's Sports Station 104.3 The Fan (@1043TheFan) February 25, 2022
Rodgers signed a four-year $134 million contract extension in 2018, which averaged out to $33.5 million a year, but the deal didn’t start until 2020.
When looking at elite quarterbacks, Tom Brady took a much lower contract so the team could use the money saved to acquire needed players, something Rodgers doesn’t seem likely to do here.
Packers Cap Space Situation Could Endanger Rodgers’ Deal
With the Packers over the cap and star wide receiver Davante Adams having the franchise tag applied to him, do the Packers have a plan to help Rodgers or keep him around past this upcoming season?
Davante Adams will take home over $20M under the franchise tag. Who else got paid on Tuesday? @jenpiacenti highlights the key fantasy players who will be returning to their teams https://t.co/AWT6Asf7HO
— SI Fantasy (@SI_Fantasy) March 9, 2022
With Adams getting the franchise tag, the Packers are currently $44.49 million over the cap before the new league year starts on March 16.
The danger now becomes that if new contracts aren’t agreed on to lower player salaries from the Packers’ highest-paid players, the Packers will have to let go players to get under the cap space amount for 2022.
If Rodgers goes the Brady route to help save on cap space, the Packers could get him some help in the free agency market.
On the other side, if Rodgers gets his “highest-paid player in the NFL” contract, the Packers won’t have the cap space needed to retain or acquire the players Rodgers will need to help the Packers make a Super Bowl run.
Jeopardy! The Future of Rodgers Career
While Rodgers has done guest host appearances for the game show Jeopardy!, his career in the NFL, and mainly with the Packers, can be in jeopardy as well if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl this season.
Rodgers has talked about possible retirement, but that is not on the table for him now.
Rumors about Rodgers wanting a trade, which has been ongoing since last year, have been debunked with the announcement he will return to the Packers, ending those rumors for now.
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