On Tuesday, March 9, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported a record-breaking deal that would make Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers the highest-paid NFL player in history.
This contract extension is reported to be worth up to 200 million dollars over four years with 156 million guaranteed. This immediately provoked reactions from multiple players, media outlets and fans across the country, the most common being that the Packers should not be so committed to giving one player so much money, especially considering that Rodgers has not been able to lead them to glory and has fallen infamously short, for three consecutive seasons.
Rodgers himself cleared up some of the drama by stating that the reported terms of the contract were inaccurate, but that he would be playing for the Green Bay Packers next season. As someone who regularly watches the NFL, this extension seems like a very logical move for both sides involved.
Rodgers, who is coming off his second consecutive season with MVP honors, wants to win himself a second super bowl ring. The Packers, on the other hand, want to remain one of the NFL’s elite teams and the key to their success without a doubt, is Aaron Rodgers. It isn’t a secret that there has been some bad blood between the Packers front office and Rodgers, but even if they haven’t fully backed him up in some aspects, nobody provides him a better shot at winning.
Rodgers would be searching for a team that can afford his pay and gives him the weapons necessary for an immediate shot at winning. Nobody can do that, a trade with the Packers would most likely require multiple high-value picks for a quarterback who has no more than a few years left at the top of the league. So for Rodgers, why not stay? Stay at the team which has been your home for 16 years, right? Well, maybe the team doesn’t want to pay what he’s demanding.
After all, the Packers haven’t won a super bowl since 2010 and haven’t visited since then. But realistically, this was the only right move by the Packers. Rodgers has led them to three consecutive division titles and two conference championships in the last three years. It may be true that they have “choked” on the playoff stage but financially, it is much more beneficial to the Packers to lose in the playoffs than to not make them at all. Without Rodgers, the Packers would likely drop from a 13 win contender to a 5-7 win team struggling to make the playoffs. And if that wasn’t enough, Rodgers staying would incentivize more free agents like Preston Smith and De’Vondre Campbell to stay for the long term. There really isn’t a better option for either side, Rodgers deserves his money and the Packers are smart in giving it to him.
