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

[CheezWizHed]

Didn't Rodgers say it had nothing do with Love?

 

He said it had nothing to do with the player. But he clearly didn't appreciate the Packers drafting him as a backup/replacement plan without somehow informing him.

I listened to the entire interview with Kenny Mayne and he did not say that. He said, "it was never about the draft pick".

 

When did he specifically say it was about drafting Love without telling him? That, to me, sounds like the media making assumptions. He said some things "were put into motion last year", but could it be about cutting Kumerow and not about drafting Love? Cutting Kumerow happened last year.

 

I haven't seen anything from Rodgers indicating it had anything to do with drafting Love and not informing him.

 

"I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization," Rodgers said. "History is important, the legacy of so many people who've come before you. But the people, that's the most important thing. People make an organization. People make a business, and sometimes that gets forgotten. Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people, not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It's built by the people."

 

"With my situation, look it's never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan," Rodgers told ESPN. "I love Jordan. He's a great kid, a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay: an incredible 16 years. It's just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It's about character, it's about culture, it's about doing things the right way. A lot of this was put in motion last year and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year. This is just kind of, I think, a spill-out of all that. But it is about the people, and that's the most important thing."

 

The only way his MVP puts a "wrench" in the "lot of this" that was "put in motion last year" is if he is talking about the Packers replacing him. There is no other reason why him playing well is a "wrench".

 

If it had to do with Kumerow, his winning an MVP without him is the opposite of a "wrench", but instead proof that Jake wasn't needed on the team.

 

He starts the interview off with high ideals (i.e. culture, people, team, history), but it ends being about him and his MVP wrench.

[FVBrewerFan]

Though I appreciate the discussion about Rodgers and the merits of whether he could have done more or whether the teams around him should have been better, I'm not sure it's relevant in 2021. Undeniably, the Packers are as complete a team now as they have been since XLV. Gute and his staff have turned a dicey situation roster-wise into a legitimate Super Bowl contender in a short period of time, setting both Rodgers and the Packers up for a really good shot at a title in 2021.

 

....which is why this seems so puzzling from Rodgers' standpoint. Is your goal to win a Super Bowl, or be the highest paid player in the league? In this case, in this year, those two things don't go together.

Yeah, there are questions. I guess we will find out details down the road. It's why I am hesitant to join either camp at this time. No one knows exactly what was said/done/not done between Rodgers and the front office. My guess it was Rodgers asking the team to commit to him beyond 2021 - and they said no (at least at first or in the manner he desired). And that set off the events as they sit today. It was likely a culmination of many things - but that might have been the thing that sent him over the edge. But that is just my guess.

 

Again, we will probably find out more down the road. And I'll throw stones at whomever deserves it at that time.

 

I am critical of the team for letting things get to this point - and that's because good organizations don't let this kind of thing happen. They recognize the minefields in front of them and work to avoid them. But I also understand that things can spin out of control despite best efforts. Again, we will find out more down the road.

 

That's the point I was making earlier. Rodgers knows how the salary cap works, and how he's expendable after this season. I'm pretty sure that's what he's upset about. He wanted a deal that extends his career so he can retire as a Packer AND clear up cap room for a couple years so they can bring in a couple high tier FA, resign their own players, and really be in the driver's seat to win a SB or two.

 

For that, I don't fault him for wanting that. I also don't fault the Packers for not wanting to extend his contract after his 2019 season. It is one of those cases where everybody's right, everybody's wrong. But if Rodgers does end up sitting out, that's when he immediately loses the high ground. And the vast majority of fans will side with 1265, unless the Rodgers camp leaks some pretty damning evidence of some kind.

[young guns]

That's the point I was making earlier. Rodgers knows how the salary cap works, and how he's expendable after this season. I'm pretty sure that's what he's upset about. He wanted a deal that extends his career so he can retire as a Packer AND clear up cap room for a couple years so they can bring in a couple high tier FA, resign their own players, and really be in the driver's seat to win a SB or two.

 

For that, I don't fault his for wanting that. I also don't fault the Packers for wanting to extend his contract after his 2019 season. It is one of those cases where everybody's right, everybody's wrong. But if Rodgers does end up sitting out, that's when he immediately loses the high ground. And the vast majority of fans will side with 1265, unless the Rodgers camp leaks some pretty damning evidence of some kind.

Can he even have a new contract that gives him that type of security, where the packers don't have a cheap out like they would after this year, and its team friendly creating a bunch of cap space?

 

It seems to me that the issue is Rodgers feels like it was always definitely the plan to jettison him after this year, because of the financials plus drafting of love and at best the wrench went into plan b, what do we do if Rodgers continues getting worse or gets hurt again.

[MrTPlush]

Sure, Rodgers could get hurt or start to decline. On the flip side Jordan Love could be a garbage starting QB. If you put odds on those two scenarios regretting a Rodgers extension would be like...10%. Now, odds Love never becomes a pro bowl QB? Well over 50%.

 

I don’t really see any reason to be concerned handing Rodgers a contract when it comes to injury or decline risk. That risk is there, but I don’t think the chance should be concerning.

[xisxisxis]

Rodgers is coming off an MVP season. Why wouldn't he have job security? Sure, the economics of his contract are such that moving on from him after 2021 is better than now. But what organization is so stupid to dump the franchise QB, playing at an elite level, who is a first ballot HOF candidate simply because they CAN. He already has job security as long as he performs. The whole Jordan Love situation is just personal for Rodgers. The team put a backup plan in place in case Rodgers decline was real. And at his age they will continue to need to have a backup plan. That's what good organizations do, they setup backup plans in case the basket with 99% of their eggs goes up in flames. Are we really concerned that the Packers leadership is so stupid that they would trade Rodgers after 2021 (if he has another great year) simply because they CAN? Nothing I have seen from the Packers leadership indicates they are that stupid. Shut up Aaron, put up another MVP year and everything will be fine.

 

Seems Rodgers would prefer to take a trip on a ship that has no life boats because then he knows the ship won't sink because life boats are clearly for companies that build bad ships... Forget the airbags on the cars too, just a fake ploy by bad car companies to sell a crap car...

[LouisEly]

The only way his MVP puts a "wrench" in the "lot of this" that was "put in motion last year" is if he is talking about the Packers replacing him. There is no other reason why him playing well is a "wrench".

Maybe that has to do with a contract extension not getting done last year, and then the MVP made Rodgers think that he can demand more guaranteed $ or a longer contract term.

 

My point was to counter those who were saying that it was about the Packers not telling him that they intended on drafting a QB. Nowhere has Rodgers directly said that. Anything else is an inferential, subjective interpretation of vague words.

[FVBrewerFan]

The only way his MVP puts a "wrench" in the "lot of this" that was "put in motion last year" is if he is talking about the Packers replacing him. There is no other reason why him playing well is a "wrench".

Maybe that has to do with a contract extension not getting done last year, and then the MVP made Rodgers think that he can demand more guaranteed $ or a longer contract term.

 

My point was to counter those who were saying that it was about the Packers not telling him that they intended on drafting a QB. Nowhere has Rodgers directly said that. Anything else is an inferential, subjective interpretation of vague words.

 

Right, drafting Love was just an extension of the bigger issue of not getting a long term contract done. In Rodgers mind. As in, not only won't you commit to me long term but now you trade up to get a QB. It all goes together, drafting Love wasn't the problem, it just magnified it.

[adambr2]

The only way his MVP puts a "wrench" in the "lot of this" that was "put in motion last year" is if he is talking about the Packers replacing him. There is no other reason why him playing well is a "wrench".

Maybe that has to do with a contract extension not getting done last year, and then the MVP made Rodgers think that he can demand more guaranteed $ or a longer contract term.

 

My point was to counter those who were saying that it was about the Packers not telling him that they intended on drafting a QB. Nowhere has Rodgers directly said that. Anything else is an inferential, subjective interpretation of vague words.

 

Right, drafting Love was just an extension of the bigger issue of not getting a long term contract done. In Rodgers mind. As in, not only won't you commit to me long term but now you trade up to get a QB. It all goes together, drafting Love wasn't the problem, it just magnified it.

 

Where is this coming from that they wouldn't commit to him long-term? He had 4 years left on his deal when they drafted Love. They were quite obviously not moving on because of the size of the potential cap hit for the following 2 years.

 

How far exactly do they need to commit to satisfy Rodgers? Does he need to be extended out to age 45 and ensure that it would put them in salary cap hell if they move on before age 42? I don't remember this being a huge issue with Favre. Rodgers wasn't playing on a lame duck contract. He had a long-term deal. At minimum they weren't walking away for 2+ and if he played like he did in '20 they obviously weren't looking to move on anytime soon.

 

Again, he had a long-term deal already. Does Rodgers need a clear 5 years where they can't walk away to satisfy his ego? He does realize they still need to run the business wisely and try not to make the possibility that his skills degrade in his 40s be a significantly painful event for the team?

[MrTPlush]

I don’t think Rodgers doesn’t believe winning an MVP is job security, it is. He even acknowledged it “threw a wrench in their plan” as in now they can’t dump me this year. The problem is it isn’t long term job security. If Rodgers played 4 MVP caliber games and had a season ending injury, what would the Packers do? Let him go? I think that is the problem. After a decade and a half and coming off an MVP year he feels he deserves longer term job security. As I have said before, I can’t blame the guy for that.

[Sixtofan]

So he wants job security with the Packers but doesn’t want to play for the Packers (with the current GM) - very odd. It is really a shame that it has come to this.

[adambr2]

I don’t think Rodgers doesn’t believe winning an MVP is job security, it is. He even acknowledged it “threw a wrench in their plan” as in now they can’t dump me this year. The problem is it isn’t long term job security. If Rodgers played 4 MVP caliber games and had a season ending injury, what would the Packers do? Let him go? I think that is the problem. After a decade and a half and coming off an MVP year he feels he deserves longer term job security. As I have said before, I can’t blame the guy for that.

 

Don't recall Peyton Manning being immediately unhappy with his contract when he went to Denver, played out of his mind and won an MVP..

 

 

I think we can all agree NFL contracts are more fluid than most sports, but asking for an adjustment on a long-term deal after every year where you outperform the deal is also not how it works. Rodgers was pretty disappointing in '19 which was probably a lot of the reason we drafted Love and we weren't knocking on his agent's door asking him to take a paycut.

[tmwiese55]

No, but when he's only two years away from no guaranteed money it matters. The '4 years left' thing isn't really true. NFL non gtd contracts is a key part to all this. It looks like 4 years but it's really not, it was two years. Half of which is now gone in which he just won MVP.

[adambr2]

No, but when he's only two years away from no guaranteed money it matters. The '4 years left' thing isn't really true. NFL non gtd contracts is a key part to all this. It looks like 4 years but it's really not, it was two years. Half of which is now gone in which he just won MVP.

 

So what about the 80M we guaranteed him when he signed the deal in '18? That doesn't mean anything anymore because he won MVP in '20?

 

No one seems to have an answer for this, how often do we need to extend him and how far out do we have to kick the can down the road for him to feel loved and appreciated?

[tmwiese55]

No, but when he's only two years away from no guaranteed money it matters. The '4 years left' thing isn't really true. NFL non gtd contracts is a key part to all this. It looks like 4 years but it's really not, it was two years. Half of which is now gone in which he just won MVP.

 

So what about the 80M we guaranteed him when he signed the deal in '18? That doesn't mean anything anymore because he won MVP in '20?

 

No one seems to have an answer for this, how often do we need to extend him and how far out do we have to kick the can down the road for him to feel loved and appreciated?

 

Well, didn't he just earn that by playing. So by your logic since he made money in the past he now should be cool going year to year or he's a baby or something. It's not this emotional love and appreciation you try to disprage him with, it's simple financials. Players want guaranteed money, he now only has one year of that left and the team clearly was exploring moving on from him at that point. So, this '4 years left why doesn't he feel loved' does not seem that way to him. It was two years, and one is now gone. IDK, to me it's not uncommon or crazy at all for a guy going into last year of his deal to want to lock in his money for after and not risk it. All I was really saying is that it's not really true or is somewhat misleading to say '4 years left on his deal'. When that deal you talk about was signed, all parties knew barring injury it would have to be worked on again in a couple years (the 5 years or whatever it was called was just to manipulate cap).

 

Hindsight, they should've guaranteed this money at the beginning and they might not be in this spot. Or the league should've put in gtd contracts 20 years ago and they wouldn't be here. But IDK how that affects cap manipulation and all that. Keep in mind we also don't know what concessions or handshake deals he made with them in the past during negotiations to help the cap and how that plays in here.

[reillymcshane]

 

No one seems to have an answer for this, how often do we need to extend him and how far out do we have to kick the can down the road for him to feel loved and appreciated?

No one can answer this because no one knows exactly what - and if - he's asked for.

 

People all assume he wants more money or guarantees or whatever. That may very well be true. And I would suspect it was something like that. But it seems fruitless for everyone to complaining about what Rodgers wants or is demanding or whatever until we know for sure.

 

The Packers have reportedly made him an extension offer - but no one knows the details. Is that more money? More guarantees? Is it some simple restructuring to push cap money down the road? Again, know one knows but Rodgers and the team.

 

Sure, be annoyed or mad that he's dragging this out. The uncertainty doesn't help the team in any way.

[reillymcshane]

 

So what about the 80M we guaranteed him when he signed the deal in '18? That doesn't mean anything anymore because he won MVP in '20?

 

As a note, Rodgers stands to lose a big chunk of that guarantee if he retires.

 

$11.5M of his bonus is prorated in 2021 and another $11.5 in 2022. If he retires, the Packers and recoup that $23M.

 

Plus he got a $6.8 bonus earlier this year. We can go after that as well.

 

That means if he retires, he can lose $30M of the $80M guarantee.

 

All that said, your point is a valid one. We have paid him a lot - and new contracts probably only make things even more painful down the road.

 

Of course, if you win a Super Bowl in the next year or two - you're probably happy to do that. But the piper must be paid at some point.

[FVBrewerFan]

No, but when he's only two years away from no guaranteed money it matters. The '4 years left' thing isn't really true. NFL non gtd contracts is a key part to all this. It looks like 4 years but it's really not, it was two years. Half of which is now gone in which he just won MVP.

 

So what about the 80M we guaranteed him when he signed the deal in '18? That doesn't mean anything anymore because he won MVP in '20?

 

No one seems to have an answer for this, how often do we need to extend him and how far out do we have to kick the can down the road for him to feel loved and appreciated?

 

Not the point, this started the off-season before his MVP season. How often? That's probably Rodgers point. He wanted a long term commitment, not a 2 year deal with a team option for 2 more years. (To put put it in MLB terms.) He likely wanted a contract that would be structured to create cap hell for the Packers if was cut before he's 44, 45....whatever. A few years more than two, put it that way.

 

Again, I completely see the risk involved for the Packers if they did that. So I'm not on Rodgers side, just trying to explain where I think he's coming from. I said months ago it's odd we weren't hearing anything about a contract extension. Pretty sure this is why. Packers likely were willing to tack on two years after this past season, and Rodgers took that as in insult.

 

Nope, I don't know any of this is factual. But reading between the lines, it's the simplist explanation.

[adambr2]

I really am trying to see both sides of this issue. And I do think the Packers could have at least had a courtesy conversation with Rodgers ahead of the 2020 draft that they were considering going QB. But I don't think they owed him a new contract because he won MVP.

[reillymcshane]

I really am trying to see both sides of this issue. And I do think the Packers could have at least had a courtesy conversation with Rodgers ahead of the 2020 draft that they were considering going QB. But I don't think they owed him a new contract because he won MVP.

I agree with you. He had a contract. It made him the highest paid player at the time. He'd just banked something like $60M the year before. As people said - he signed it, live with it, etc., etc.

 

But I also agree it would have probably been good to communicate with him the possibilities of the draft beforehand. I mean, the club knows he's a got a prickly personality and he's known to hold grudges. Why not have a conversation to head off any misunderstandings? He's the most important person on your team - and no matter what anyone says in ANY organization, some people are more equal than others.

 

"Aaron, we've got a draft board. Know that if a QB we like comes up, we might pick him. We have a couple of guys we'd even take in the 1st round. We are not trying to replace you. It's about having a quality player behind you - an issue that's been a problem for use when you've had injuries. I'd compare it to the Garoppolo situation in New England a few years ago."

 

Now, in the team's defense, perhaps they expected Love to go earlier (although he was kind of all over the place in the mocks, so I don't think anyone was sure he'd be gone). And they figured, why poke the bear when it's unlikely we pick Love. No point in agitating Rodgers by bringing up the matter when it's not likely to happen.

 

Of course, if that was the case, a quick call to him right before the pick might have been nice.

 

Another thing - and I think this is really important - it might simply be how Green Bay operates - and they've communicated that fact to everyone. The team may simply say, "We talk to no one before the draft. Sorry if this frustrates anyone, but that's how it works. "

 

Again, it doesn't preclude a quick phone call right before Love is picked - but you get the idea.

 

I'm sure the Packers had their reasons not to talk to Rodgers beforehand - light a fire under him, make sure we have a good backup, etc, etc. But whatever - we can hash this over and over.

 

Some people say they don't owe Rodgers a thing in that situation. Some say it's not a bad idea. There's good points in both sides.

[MrTPlush]

Now, in the team's defense, perhaps they expected Love to go earlier (although he was kind of all over the place in the mocks, so I don't think anyone was sure he'd be gone). And they figured, why poke the bear when it's unlikely we pick Love. No point in agitating Rodgers by bringing up the matter when it's not likely to happen.

 

I thought of this and while it made sense, I remembered the packers don't seem to really tell Rodgers anything personnel related. For that reason I doubt the thought of actually talking about the draft and potentially drafting a QB ever crossed their minds.

 

Gute knows he messed up, he has said that. I think his acknowledgment of that is more than just trying to appease Rodgers to get him back with the team.

[PeaveyFury]

 

Gute knows he messed up, he has said that. I think his acknowledgment of that is more than just trying to appease Rodgers to get him back with the team.

 

I certainly would like to see a link to those comments?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

Gute knows he messed up, he has said that. I think his acknowledgment of that is more than just trying to appease Rodgers to get him back with the team.

 

I certainly would like to see a link to those comments?

 

I thought this story summed it up pretty well: https://larrybrownsports.com/football/packers-gm-shares-regret-with-aaron-rodgers-last-year/578155

[PeaveyFury]

 

Gute knows he messed up, he has said that. I think his acknowledgment of that is more than just trying to appease Rodgers to get him back with the team.

 

I certainly would like to see a link to those comments?

 

I thought this story summed it up pretty well: https://larrybrownsports.com/football/packers-gm-shares-regret-with-aaron-rodgers-last-year/578155

 

Thanks, I hadn’t seen that previously!

[SeaBass]

If you look at the team's actions it doesn't look like they value Rodgers as much as the outside world feels they should. The facts are we don't know how far back bad feelings go between the team and Rodgers and not all of that is Rodgers' feelings.

 

We and the world are aware of Rodgers' personality, he holds grudges, he makes veiled comments in interviews, fractured relationship with his family, who's to say that when all the fallout from McCarthy's final season (or even further back) was taking place that Murphy and Gutekunst weren't happy with their QB not only from an on field standpoint but from a behind the scenes standpoint as well. Like many have said, it sure seemed like the Packers had a plan to move on from Rodgers after this season or to at least have that option if he wasn't playing up to a level that they wanted him to.

 

We just don't know. 16 years is a long time and nobody knows Rodgers better than Green Bay does. They've said they offered him a new contract and a commitment of years, we really don't know what that looks like though. It's clearly not good enough for Rodgers or he'd have signed up.

[homer]

I really am trying to see both sides of this issue. And I do think the Packers could have at least had a courtesy conversation with Rodgers ahead of the 2020 draft that they were considering going QB. But I don't think they owed him a new contract because he won MVP.

 

I'm not sure they knew they were going to draft Love until 10 minutes before they drafted him.