Quarterback Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension, a record-tying deal that will make him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in NFL history.
The broad strokes of the deal were first reported Friday night by NFL insiders Adam Schefter of ESPN, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Dianna Russini of The Athletic. On Saturday, the Packers confirmed that Love had signed the deal, although the team did not offer specifics.
According to reports, Love’s extension will pay him $55 million per year, tying the record recently set by quarterbacks Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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The deal includes $155 million in guaranteed money and a record $75 million signing bonus.
The deal, as reported, would keep Love in Green Bay through the 2028 season, after which he would be a free agent at the age of 30. Before the extension, his contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
“From 1992 until the foreseeable future, the Packers have transitioned from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and now to Jordan Love,” Schefter wrote on social media Friday. “They now have him for another five seasons. The Packers are the NFL model for quarterback consistency.”
The massive contract comes after just one season where Love was the Packers’ starting quarterback.
In that season, Love completed 64.2 percent of his passes, threw for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also led the Packers to the playoffs, where they defeated the Dallas Cowboys before losing to the San Francisco 49ers. Green Bay was the youngest playoff team since 1974.
During the team’s offseason program, Love told reporters that his mindset heading into this season was to “keep working.”
“You got to be able to believe in yourself before your coaches and your teammates will, but also never having that mindset of being complacent or thinking you made it,” he said in June. “(I’m) always trying to have a positive mindset and trying to work to get better.”
Both Love and team officials had indicated they wanted to get the deal done before training camp practices began on July 22.
As negotiations dragged into camp, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters both sides were close to getting a deal done and that the team wanted Love to play in Green Bay “for a long time.”
“He’s our franchise quarterback and we’re ready to move forward — it’s not like we’re trying to make that decision,” Gutekunst said Monday. “But at the same time, we want to put the best team around him we can.”
With deal done, Love returns to practice
Love elected not to practice at the beginning of training camp while negotiating the deal with the team. He was in Green Bay for training camp, and attended team meetings, film sessions and practices in street clothes.
Love’s teammates voiced support of their quarterback when asked about his decision not to practice early in training camp.
“Obviously, there’s a business side to this sport,” said wide receiver Christian Watson on the first day of training camp. “We’re going to support him 100 percent, just like he does for us. I think he deserves every penny that he’s going to get.”
After signing his contract extension, Love returned to practice Saturday.
Aaron Nagler, co-founder of social media brand Cheesehead TV, told WPR Love’s decision not to participate in practice until the deal was done was likely the right choice — both for the team and the player. That’s because the move helps ensure Love avoids a possible fluke injury at practice, Nagler said.
He cited a 2016 incident where Teddy Bridgewater, then-quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, suffered a dislocated knee and torn ACL during a noncontact drill, calling it an “extreme example.”
“When you’re on the precipice of a mega quarterback contract, you don’t want to jeopardize that,” he said. “You don’t want to basically cut yourself off from generational wealth because, ‘Oh, I had to be out there in shorts and helmets with the guys for a couple days.’”
Nagler also admitted there’s still some unknowns around Love after only one season as the starter.
“You’re paying a guy for what you expect him to do,” he said. “That’s what the best NFL teams do — it’s a game of projection. They’re projecting him to become great.”
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