Report: Rodgers wants new contract (Update: May not want to return in 2021)

[nodakfan17]

Count me as someone who doesn’t think Rodgers will sit out.

 

He’s a guy who cares about his legacy and I guarantee he knows exactly where he stands among his contemporaries in terms of career wins (9th), touchdown passes (7th), and passing yards (11th). With 3 more average years, he’d be Top 5 in each category.

 

Now maybe he views player empowerment or his life’s work after football as his greatest legacy, but he cares about those stats.

[JimH5]

I think the leverage is that the Packers need him more than he needs the Packers and football. He's earned his money, he's at the top of his game, his legacy as a player is cemented.

 

If he hates Gute, it's no big deal. He could retire or hold out and he'd still have 20 teams eager to acquire him. Favre was the blueprint for this.

 

It's a refreshing alternative to the hundreds of college guys who are all too willing to bow at the altar of the NFL. Rodgers seems to have broken that power dynamic.

 

This is only true if you actually believe that Rodgers isn’t hyper competitive and doesn’t want to win a second championship, which simply isn’t true. Add in the fact that he won’t swallow his pride enough to write the Packers a $30 million check, which he absolutely will not do.

 

It also requires you to believe that the Packers wouldn’t be willing to ride it out with Love, much like they were with Rodgers back in 2008. I guess we won’t know for sure unless they actually do, but my gut is that they don’t blink like other organizations do in situations like with the Raiders and Mack.

 

I don't think Barry Sanders or Calvin Johnson were any less competitive than Rodgers. But they found their situations untenable and they retired. Rodgers is trying a different route.

 

I don't know if the money is really a factor. Tony Romo is making $18 million as an analyst. Alex Trebek was making $10 million as a game show host. Rodgers is going to get paid by somebody to do something, which makes any financial penalties by the Packers seem less significant.

 

He's already made $200 million+, and add endorsements and other income, and he can afford to demand the brown M&Ms be removed from the bowl.

 

Honestly, it's refreshing to see the power in the hands of a player and not the team. He was living it up at the Derby and the front office was issuing explanatory press statements about how committed they are to him. That contrast is nice to see.

[areacodes]

Why does something need to be done with Gutekunst? He's a good GM. It's not like he's done a terrible job. I guess he could have communicated the Love thing better to Rodgers last year but that's certainly not a fireable offense.

 

You certainly can't let a player, even a star player, strong-arm you into firing front office guys. That's a terrible precedent to set. Who would want to be the GM of this team if a player can fire you?

 

Rodgers is the cream of the crop best player of all time talent. He shouldn’t have let it get to this point. That’s a massive failure on his part for not communicating with Rodgers. And in my opinion, even before the draft last year, I was thinking they didn’t need to consider drafting a quarterback replacement for at least 2 more years at the EARLIEST. Rodgers stated numerous times in the past about wanting to play into his 40’s.

 

There really wasn’t signs of him regressing as a player when he was playing with an injured leg and then learning a completely new system while still maintaining a 6/1 TD/INT ratio. Once Rodgers was healthy and had his second year in a non-McCarthy system, he flourished.

 

But I do agree in that I think Gutekunst has done a good job in building a roster both through the draft and in free agency. If I personally had to make the decision, Rodgers would get a new contract guaranteeing him through his age 41 or 42 season and Gutekunst would be shown the door. In my eyes, if you as a franchise piss off the greatest player of all time, refuse to give him a large extension when he’s still dominant, and force him out of town for some rookie when the player himself wants to play another 5+ years, you’re an idiot. (The Favre and Rodgers situations are much different in that Favre wasn’t sure if he would keep playing so they drafted a replacement compared to a guy who wanted to play for basically a minimum of 5 years more. Even if Love is a quality quarterback in the future, his cheap years were riding the bench and will be a $30+ million guy quickly because his team control is used up).

 

You will lose the fan’s trust, the board’s trust, and the player’s trust. The fallout from fans across the state will be massive. Going down this road wouldn’t be good for anybody. This is one of those situations where somebody will likely need to take the fall. And in my eyes, keeping the greatest player of all time for another half decade instead of going down in history as the franchise that didn’t do enough around him in the first place and forced him out of town when he wanted to stay and play for a long time still, that’s a big big scar on the organization that will never go away.

 

I’m just glad you aren’t in charge of this organization.

 

You can’t let a player, no matter who it is, be making decisions about the GM especially when he’s been doing a good job overall. That would give you almost zero ability to hire quality front office personnel going forward, and contrary to what your saying, would lose the players trust/respect in the organization.

 

There are no guarantees that Rodgers will be an effective player into his 40’s and the Packers should be drafting replacement QB’s to look out for the long term health of the franchise. Few players maintain a high level of play into their 40’s, so just because he says he wants to keep playing doesn’t mean it’ll be at this level. On top of that, they have been negotiating a contract extension with him.

 

Also, I’m tired of the “not enough around him” take that people keep throwing around. I get being disappointed by the Love pick when we could have added more but we had the #1 offense last year with arguably the top WR in the game, one of the top RB’s and LT’s in the league, possibly best OL and an up-and-coming big play TE... there is plenty of talent around him.

[nodakfan17]

For the record, Van Halen requested the brown M&Ms be removed as a way of gauging whether or not the concert promoter had read their entire contract, which included dozens of safety stipulations detailing how all of their (very heavy) equipment should be set up. If they showed up to a venue and saw brown M&Ms in their staging area, the show could be canceled at the expense of the promoter. If Van Halen was ever uncomfortable with how a venue was set up, the brown M&Ms provided them with the leverage to immediately insist on additional, rigorous safety checks.

 

But yeah, Rodgers could probably insist on no brown M&Ms at 1265.

[patrickgpe]

Yeah I sure the packers would prefer him holding rather than trading him and opposing the packers at some point or even worse winning a super bowl. If the packers would trade him for a 22 1st and other picks, it would most likely be a late first anyway no matter where he goes

[PeaveyFury]

But they did trade Favre.

 

But that wasn't blinking with Favre. Favre wanted/expected the organization to cave to the fans' sentiment and hand him the starting job back, pushing Rodgers to the bench/out the door. The Packers held firm, and in the most TT way possible, sent him to waste a year of his waning career with a miserable Jets organization. The Packers won that standoff.

 

Unlike Jim, I think Rodgers' end game is the same expectation of Favre's. The Packers trading Rodgers is only them blinking if you really, truly believe that Rodgers wants to be traded. I don't for one second. I think this is a negotiating ploy, and I think the Packers again win this standoff if they call his bluff and trade him. It would be delightfully passive-aggressive to trade him to Houston and make him waste a year with a terrible organization and PRAYING that they acquiesce to his demand to be released next offseason like the Jets did.

 

Things I am confident of at this point, in order of confidence:

Gute isn't getting fired

The Packers present Rodgers with his best chance to compete for a Super Bowl in 2021

Rodgers isn't retiring this offseason

This issue is being blown out of proportion to at least some level to generate clicks/views/readership.

[PeaveyFury]

He was living it up at the Derby and the front office was issuing explanatory press statements about how committed they are to him. That contrast is nice to see.

 

The Packers were actually expressing those comments at press events that were already scheduled due to the NFL Draft, the real focus of the Packers this weekend. If anyone had to answer questions about the situation, it was Rodgers in his press interviews at the Derby, where he was hounded about it. Both sides had to dance with the media yesterday, not one.

 

Honestly, it's refreshing to see the power in the hands of a player and not the team. .

 

Sorry Jim, I'll end where I began today- I think you're going to be disappointed when you discover that this wasn't actually the case.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Those two are HOF QB’s?!? Yikes.

 

Ryan probably is. He definitely has the stats, he's got an MVP, he's got some Pro Bowls and he played in a Super Bowl. If Rivers is in which I think he probably is, I think Ryan is too.

 

Dak is still really young, obviously wouldn't be one if he retired today but if he continues his current trajectory he can get there.

 

Matt Ryan isn't going to the Hall. His legacy is blowing a Super Bowl win. He has arguably less credibility than Stafford around the league. Dak has a shot but had to do something. Pretty stats aren't what they used to be. You get benched if you throw 30 TDs and aren't efficient enough. But that wasn't my point anyway. If the rest of the team is good enough your QB can be a glorified role player as long as he doesn't lose games.

 

If he gets in, Stafford will, Rivers will, etc. I guess it remains to be seen how the stst pretty era gets treated. My inclination is that Brady has changed things and made rings more heavily weighed.

[xisxisxis]

If Rodgers really wants to play out his career with the Packers then he needs to sign a team friendly deal. At present the team is already looking at a cap nightmare for 2022. I understand Rodgers wants to be paid like he's the best QB in football, but he has been for a long time and the team hasn't been able to add the pieces around him to get back to the Super Bowl. Paying him $40M a season is going to limit what they can do in FA and likely prevent them from doing the extensions they have in the past to keep key guys. At some point, if winning a Super Bowl is Rodgers biggest desire then he needs to understand that he might have to leave some money on the table so the team can surround him with the talent. If it's all about the biggest/longest payday for #12 then the Packers are rightfully going to move on.

[JimH5]

He was living it up at the Derby and the front office was issuing explanatory press statements about how committed they are to him. That contrast is nice to see.

 

The Packers were actually expressing those comments at press events that were already scheduled due to the NFL Draft, the real focus of the Packers this weekend. If anyone had to answer questions about the situation, it was Rodgers in his press interviews at the Derby, where he was hounded about it. Both sides had to dance with the media yesterday, not one.

 

Honestly, it's refreshing to see the power in the hands of a player and not the team. .

 

Sorry Jim, I'll end where I began today- I think you're going to be disappointed when you discover that this wasn't actually the case.

 

I think it's already a bit of a victory for the Rodgers side. Even if this is just trolling (which is what I'm doing, too) he created chaos for Gutekunst. It's been reported that he doesn't like Gute. So by pitching a fit, or holding out, or demanding a trade, Rodgers has already made Gutekunst's life harder. Maybe that's enough for him.

 

I guess we'll find out in the months to come.

[xisxisxis]

I think it's already a bit of a victory for the Rodgers side. Even if this is just trolling (which is what I'm doing, too) he created chaos for Gutekunst. It's been reported that he doesn't like Gute. So by pitching a fit, or holding out, or demanding a trade, Rodgers has already made Gutekunst's life harder. Maybe that's enough for him.

 

I guess we'll find out in the months to come.

Well in the middle of his life being harder, Gute did an excellent job in the 2021 NFL Draft. Maybe we should keep both of them so that Gute makes Rodgers better by drafting his successor every year and Rodgers can hold out every year and maybe even threaten to hold his breath making Gute's life hell. Anything to get an edge in the NFCCG is fine by me. If they both make each other better that's great. The downside is that it's much more likely that Rodgers can't function at his job sooner than Gute goes senile so it might be better keeping the surer thing.

[ilikewisco]

I’m ready for the Love era myself. Not a fan of this drama by Rodgers. Let him retire, trade him after June 1 or let him play, I don’t care. Just quit talking about it in the media. Makes Rodgers look like a primodanna. And it basically looks like a contract negotiation tactic. I’m all for Green Bay playing hard ball.

[GAME05]

If any of it is true, and who really knows, it does likely kill any chances of restructuring Rodgers and committing to another three years. There's still a point where it can't be left as water under the bridge anymore.

[JimH5]

For the record, Van Halen requested the brown M&Ms be removed as a way of gauging whether or not the concert promoter had read their entire contract, which included dozens of safety stipulations detailing how all of their (very heavy) equipment should be set up. If they showed up to a venue and saw brown M&Ms in their staging area, the show could be canceled at the expense of the promoter. If Van Halen was ever uncomfortable with how a venue was set up, the brown M&Ms provided them with the leverage to immediately insist on additional, rigorous safety checks.

 

But yeah, Rodgers could probably insist on no brown M&Ms at 1265.

 

Thanks.. I hadn't heard that explanation of the reason behind the VH contract terms.

[PeaveyFury]

I think it's already a bit of a victory for the Rodgers side. Even if this is just trolling (which is what I'm doing, too) he created chaos for Gutekunst.

 

I actually think this HELPS the Packers immensely in the long-term. They were going to trade him next offseason anyway in all likelihood, and this basically gave them 'due cause' with some percentage of the fanbase, and buried some of the PR hit amid a really solid draft weekend with the other. It think it'll soften the blowback significantly when it happens next February.

[CheezWizHed]

Agreed. If even 10% of what is being reported is true, a lot of people just start seeing him as a primadonna at this point. I'm not sure how an individual can be so deluded as to begrudge his team for having a backup plan - for injury or retirement. Most of the fans in Green Bay are Packer fans and not "Rodgers" fans.

 

In 10 years the Packers will still be playing and Rodgers won't.

 

[sarcasm]The similarity here between Favre and Rodgers is so ironic, it MUST mean Love is going to be our 3rd HOF QB in a row, right?[/sarcasm]

[RollieTime]

I’m just glad you aren’t in charge of this organization.

 

You can’t let a player, no matter who it is, be making decisions about the GM especially when he’s been doing a good job overall. That would give you almost zero ability to hire quality front office personnel going forward, and contrary to what your saying, would lose the players trust/respect in the organization.

 

There are no guarantees that Rodgers will be an effective player into his 40’s and the Packers should be drafting replacement QB’s to look out for the long term health of the franchise. Few players maintain a high level of play into their 40’s, so just because he says he wants to keep playing doesn’t mean it’ll be at this level. On top of that, they have been negotiating a contract extension with him.

 

Also, I’m tired of the “not enough around him” take that people keep throwing around. I get being disappointed by the Love pick when we could have added more but we had the #1 offense last year with arguably the top WR in the game, one of the top RB’s and LT’s in the league, possibly best OL and an up-and-coming big play TE... there is plenty of talent around him.

 

They certainly had the talent this year to win it all. There was quite a stretch where you knew Rodgers could carry them to the postseason, but they would fall short. It’s more in reference to prior seasons.

 

This whole situation is just strange. I’m hoping it’s just Rodgers playing hard ball with a contract extension and that’s all there is to it. If the rumors are true on his frustrations towards drafting Love, Rodgers does need to man up and not feel like some rookie is taking his job. He’s the NFL MVP. Nobody is taking his job if he keeps being as dominant as he’s been basically his entire career.

 

There’s nothing wrong with having a competent backup QB. The optics looked bad when Love was drafted and if Gute is basically only restructuring Rodgers’ contract for one season through 2022, then there’s plenty of blame to go around.

 

Both sides need to commit to each other. It’s in the best interest for all parties involved.

[pacopete4]

NYG, DEN, & Las Vegas Maybe he isn’t as smart as I thought he was.

[PeaveyFury]

Ah yes, incarcerated bob.

 

Likely nonsense, especially since the Giants would be a bewildering choice for Rodgers. Though they certainly have the draft capital considering they have two high/mid 1sts next year.

[JimH5]

I think it's already a bit of a victory for the Rodgers side. Even if this is just trolling (which is what I'm doing, too) he created chaos for Gutekunst.

 

I actually think this HELPS the Packers immensely in the long-term. They were going to trade him next offseason anyway in all likelihood, and this basically gave them 'due cause' with some percentage of the fanbase, and buried some of the PR hit amid a really solid draft weekend with the other. It think it'll soften the blowback significantly when it happens next February.

 

I think your scenario comes down to Love's performance.

 

I don't think any of their next 10 QBs will match Rodgers' career, but if Love shows promise in his first year and grows into a top tier QB for several years, then the fans will be happy.

 

But a couple of 4-12 years while Rodgers plays at a high level, and fans will call for heads.

[PeaveyFury]

But a couple of 4-12 years while Rodgers plays at a high level, and fans will call for heads.

 

But that would have been true whether Rodgers threw his public tantrum or whether he rode off quietly into the sunset.

[xisxisxis]

But a couple of 4-12 years while Rodgers plays at a high level, and fans will call for heads.

Actually that could be the best thing for the Packers. Drafting top 5 for a couple years will give you the opportunity to find that franchise QB if Love fails and if they still are 4-12 with a decent performance from Love they can use those high picks to add a couple of elite players at other positions or trade down for more picks to add starters at multiple positions.

 

The thing I always wondered is how the Niners could be so bad some years to get such high draft picks to pick up players like Bosa? The Packers play to win, other teams play for draft position. There's nothing wrong with a few years of prime draft picks.

[pacopete4]

Does having “prime” draft picks correlate to turning it around? Always seems like the same sorry franchises drafting top 10.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Does having “prime” draft picks correlate to turning it around? Always seems like the same sorry franchises drafting top 10.

 

Bengals should be turning the corner any time now if that's the case.

[LouisEly]

Does having “prime” draft picks correlate to turning it around? Always seems like the same sorry franchises drafting top 10.

Only took the Browns 30 years.