Well, Aaron Rodgers got his new deal. It was announced Tuesday morning that the four-time (repeat champ in 2020 and 2021) MVP quarterback has signed a lucrative 4-year $200M deal, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history. With $153M of it guaranteed, the Packers have committed to Rodgers. Something that the 38-year-old signal-caller has been calling for the past two off-seasons.
He reportedly contemplated retirement or to force a trade to the Denver Broncos, but ultimately sticks to what’s familiar. This deal precedes his superstar wide receiver Davante Adams receiving the franchise tag. So the Packers are set up to win the NFC North for years to come.
This deal isn’t bad in the sense of Rodgers being overpaid. He’s won the MVP in both of the last two seasons. The Packers have only missed the playoffs once when he plays more than nine games in a season. His resume calls for this deal. A franchise quarterback is so difficult to come across, never mind one that will go down as arguably being in the top-five greatest to ever do it.
What does this deal mean for the Packers?
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But was Rodgers, at 38-years-old worth all of the drama and embarrassment the Packers were put through during this saga? The debacle that Rodgers called a “beautiful mystery” has put the Packers and their fans through so much emotional turmoil that I would be shocked if there were any therapists available in the Wisconsin area.
Rodgers’ problem was never about the money. He’s got plenty of that, as my Sport Media Relations professor so eloquently put it. For the Packers to succeed, Rodgers needs some help. “(He) needs an offensive line that is healthy and competent, a boss tight end, and a defense that is uninjured/not-coached by-Dom Capers (old Defensive Coordinator, he was about as useful as an empty glass of water in the Sahara).” This deal doesn’t exactly help with these issues that Prof. Stocz, a Packers fan himself, described to me in an email chain.
The Packers have now put Aaron Rodgers at the top of the priorities. Which is where he wanted to be all along. But this kind of deal doesn’t help him win. It helps him feel important. Validation isn’t something that warrants a $200M, league-altering contract. As much as Rodgers has earned every dime, he now takes up almost a quarter of the Packers cap table. Though reportedly, the cap hit goes down as time goes on, avoiding a Matt Ryan/Atlanta Falcons catastrophe.
Packers will now live or die by Aaron Rodgers
We will have to see just how cap-friendly Rodgers’s new deal really is. But the Packers have committed an awful lot of resources and years to a quarterback about to enter his 40s and has shown a willingness to bury the Packers if they do something he doesn’t like. He might now have the power to do some serious damage with this kind of deal.
There are worse quarterbacks to tie yourself to as an NFL franchise. We’ve seen players like Ryan, Jared Goff, and Carson Wentz get paid handsomely and fail to meet the expectations for one reason or another. Rodgers has consistently performed at an elite level for Green Bay. As far as the play goes, he’s worthy of this deal and commitment. But with that wishy-washy personality he has, it’s a dangerous move for the Packers. Time will tell if appeasement was the right strategy for the 18-year veteran. But we can now say with certainty that the Packers have committed to Aaron Rodgers. For better or for worse, until death do they part.
