Four years after the decision of the Packers to trade up and draft Jordan Love put a wrench in the relationship with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have a decision to make about Love.
As Myles Simmons pointed out during Friday’s PFT Live, Love officially became eligible for a new contract on Friday. When will the Packers give him one?
Last year, the Packers and Love replaced the fifth-year option with a two-year contract. In hindsight, the contract was a great one for the Packers. They swapped out his fifth-year option of roughly $20 million for a two-year contract with a base value of $13.5 million, $13 million of which was fully guaranteed.
He triggered a sizable chunk of a $9 million escalator package for 2024, pushing his 2024 salary to $10.5 million. It’s still not nearly enough, given how he played last year.
Love opted not to bet on himself a year ago. Will he grab the bag when it’s offered this time, or will he wait? If so, how long?
The Packers will have the franchise tag available in 2025. If Love hadn’t taken the two-year deal in 2023, he would have been tagged or paid by now.
While teams rarely pay players for what they’ve done, Love might be looking to correct the imbalance from 2023 and, without a new deal, 2024. That all changes if/when the Packers put a massive offer on the table. Will he pass on it and wait for more?
It never gets cheaper over time. The Packers should want to move quickly. Love might want to wait, especially with other quarterbacks potentially signing new deals.
