One of the biggest questions facing the Green Bay Packers in 2023 was whether or not Jordan Love was going to be good enough to be their next franchise quarterback. As he entered his fourth year in the NFL, the Packers decided it was time to find out. They traded Aaron Rodgers one year after signing him to a three-year $150 million extension and rolled the dice with Love.
On top of the questions regarding his production prior to the season, there were also questions regarding when Green Bay would extend him and for how much. The Packers and Love agreed to a friendly two-year contract that was incentive-heavy and bought out his fifth-year option. It also gave him a raise for his first year as the starter.
After the season began, all eyes were on Love’s numbers and the calendars. When Rodgers took over as the starter in 2008, Green Bay gave him an extension in Week Eight. In 2023, Week Eight came and went with no extension. The Packers were 2-5 and Love was not playing well.
But then, something(s) clicked. Love and the Packers finished 7-3 and Love ended up having the best first season starting of any quarterback in franchise history.
Quarterback | Completion % | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Passer Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jordan Love | 64.2% | 4,159 | 32 | 11 | 96.1 |
Aaron Rodgers | 63.6% | 4,038 | 28 | 13 | 93.8 |
Brett Favre | 64.1% | 3,227 | 18 | 13 | 85.3 |
So now, the question is not when Green Bay give Love an extension, the question is “how much?”
NFL Analyst Predicts the Green Bay Packers Will Give Jordan Love a Massive Contract Extension
Love’s 2023 campaign was more than enough to prove that he is the future of the franchise at quarterback. Now that he has answered those questions, it is time for the Packers to pay him. That contract extension is surely coming this year, after the 2024 NFL Draft, and Joel Corry of CBS Sports believes it is going to be bigger than the three-year $150 million deal that the Packers gave Rodgers in early 2022:
“Love earned $5 million of the $9 million salary escalator because of his 2023 performance, playtime and Green Bay’s success. His 2024 base salary goes from $5.5 million to $10.5 million.
“The expectation is the Packers and Love’s camp will start working on a contract extension after the 2024 Draft in late April. It wouldn’t be a surprise for Love to target more than the $50,271,667 per year ($150.815 million over three years) Rodgers got in 2022 in his final deal with the Packers. Love was more productive last season than the four-time NFL MVP was in 2022 when the Packers missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.”
If this is truly the case, Love’s next contract will make him one of the top-five highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Highest Paid Quarterbacks in the NFL
According to a CBS Sports database, the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of money paid per year are:
- Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)- $55 million
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)- $52.65 million
- Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)- $52.5 million
- Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravents)- $52 million
- Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)- $51 million
- Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)- $50.3 million
- Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos)- $49 million
- Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)- $46.1 million
- Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)- $46 million
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)- $43 million
As seen above, Love would need to make over $51 million a year to be one of the five highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.