The Green Bay Packers and starting quarterback Jordan Love are now negotiating a contract that will keep the 2020 first-round draft pick with the organization for the foreseeable future. Going into OTAs and training camp last year, there were questions about whether Love would be the long-term quarterback solution following the trade of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. However, Love’s performance in 2023 defied both skeptics and doubters.
In his first season as the Packers’ starting quarterback, Love completed 64.1% of his throws for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.1. These figures outperformed Rodgers’ and Brett Favre’s first seasons as Green Bay’s starting quarterbacks. Prior to last season, the Packers and Love agreed on a two-year contract that included a raise last season and the purchase of his fifth-year option for this year. However, now that he is in the final year of his contract, he is eligible for a big extension. The Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love have seen other NFL teams give huge contracts to their own quarterbacks.
When the offseason began, it was widely anticipated that the Packers and Love would agree on a contract extension once he became eligible in early May. At the time, most people expected his contract to be about $46-48 million per year. But then the Detroit Lions signed Jared Goff to a four-year deal extension worth $212 million, or $53 million per year. Many people wondered if Love’s deal would not be worth $50 million or more.
Then the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Trevor Lawrence to a five-year contract worth $275 million, or $55 million per year. At that moment, many began mentioning Love as a quarterback worth up to $60 million per year. Obviously, Love and the Packers have not reached an agreement yet. However, both sides have maintained that they expect to have a deal in place by the start of training camp in late July. Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum suggests that the Green Bay Packers should give Jordan Love a 10-year $600 million contract.
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who appeared on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike Radio today, advised that the Packers bite the bullet and sign Love to a decade-long contract worth $600 million, the largest contract in NFL history. “If I’m Jordan Love, I’m not even answering the phone… I’m asking for $60 million per year for ten years. That’s correct. $60 million every year for 10 years, and if I’m the Packers, I say ‘okay,'” he said. Tannenbaum went further: “If I’m Jordan Love, I’m telling my agents, ‘Don’t return a call until Dak Prescott signs.'”
There are reports, however, that Prescott may refuse to sign his next contract until after the 2024 season. If that’s the case, Tannenbaum says Love should also wait. Would it make sense for the Green Bay Packers to pay Jordan Love that much for so long? Love will not have to wait until next offseason to sign with the Packers. As previously noted, both parties have openly declared that they want it completed by training camp. However, there is something to be said about a $600 million contract for ten years.
It is not unprecedented to sign a quarterback to such a long contract. The Kansas City Chiefs did it with Patrick Mahomes. While that is the lone incident, the Packers and Love can use it as an example. That $600 million figure may appear large right now, and it is. Having said that, the Chiefs and Mahomes agreed to a $450 million contract, which equates to $45 million a year. That put him among the top three highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Now, he is the NFL’s tenth-highest paid quarterback.
If the Packers pay Love $60 million per year on a ten-year contract now, he will not be the highest-paid quarterback in the league three or four years later. Keeping this in mind, it makes a lot of sense for Green Bay. The sticking point may be how much of the money is guaranteed. A ten-year contract is unlikely, but don’t be surprised if Love earns $60 million per year nonetheless.
