Aaron Rodgers Contract: Green Bay Packers Can Move On, Start Jordan Love In 2 Years

The Green Bay Packers traded up four spots to select quarterback Jordan Love with the No.26 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The team did so despite reaching the NFC Championship Game and having Aaron Rodgers still under contract.

Rodgers, 36, signed a new deal with the Packers in August 2018. Green Bay gave the veteran a four-year, $134 million extension that runs through the 2023 season.

That doesn’t mean Rodgers will be on the roster for four more seasons.

The Packers paid Rodgers $79.2 million over the course of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. His $19.5 million roster bonus for the 2020 season has already been guaranteed. Rodgers has no more guaranteed money on his contract beyond this year, and the deal allows Green Bay to move on from Rodgers after the 2021 season without doing major damage to its salary cap.

As a first-round pick, Love will be signed to a four-year contract with a fifth-year option. According to Spotrac, the rookie is set to earn $12.3 million through the 2023 season. Love will be paid $8.34 million over the next two seasons.

“We think a lot of him. Down the road he certainly has all the ability to be a difference-maker,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Love Thursday night on a media conference call. “But these things take time, especially at that position. He has a lot of work ahead of him.”

The average annual value of Rodgers’ contract is $33.5 million. He’s tied with Jared Goff for third in the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger makes $34 million per season. Russell Wilson is the league's highest-paid player with an average $35 million salary.

Rodgers had 4,002 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 95.4 passer rating last season. He completed 62.0% of his passes with 7.0 yards per attempt.

Love threw 20 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in his final college football season at Utah State. Rodgers has 107 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions in 56 games since 2016.