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

[homer]

This is going to end badly.

 

Please define "badly"

 

I, for one, am happy that there is now a logical endpoint to all this crap.

This cloud of uncertainty will be hanging over them all year along with the media circus that that follows it. Anything less than a Super Bowl will result in more finger pointing.

 

If they don't win a Super Bowl there would have been finger-pointing no matter what happened this offseason.

[MrTPlush]

Not sure the Packers really made it out that well. They got Rodgers to come back, but for a year. If they would have appeased Rodgers and locked him up for years, I would see how they won big. Is one more run with Rodgers really worth the risk here? Seems like they would have been better off trading him months ago for a massive haul. It is a decent end for the Packers after they dug their heels in to the last second. To me though, a big extension or just getting rid of him months ago would have been the best outcomes for the Packers.

 

Not sure how next off season will go, but I still see a lot of issues that could arise even if both sides want a trade. Seems destined for more off season drama. How are you trading him on what will be a one year deal? Will the return be anywhere near what they could have got now? What if he gets hurt/looks like he is on the decline? How much will Rodgers force a trade to a specific team? Will the acquiring team require an extension? Can't wait....not

[Fear The Chorizo]

This is going to end badly.

 

Please define "badly"

 

I, for one, am happy that there is now a logical endpoint to all this crap.

This cloud of uncertainty will be hanging over them all year along with the media circus that that follows it. Anything less than a Super Bowl will result in more finger pointing.

 

So pretty much the same as most of the offseasons from 2010-2021?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

If they don't win a Super Bowl there would have been finger-pointing no matter what happened this offseason.

 

Exactly. There's been plenty of finger pointing the last two offseasons. Why would this year be any different? Perhaps it will be amplified knowing that this could be Rodgers' last year in green and gold, but if they don't make the Super Bowl, I suspect that many fans will be more comfortable with the changes coming. Now at least they have time to prepare for it.

[nodakfan17]

If they don't win a Super Bowl there would have been finger-pointing no matter what happened this offseason.

Right, but now Rodgers is a year older with one fewer year left on his contract. It feels like the Packers are surrendering quite a bit to ensure he spends one more season in Green Bay.

 

I don’t have any answers. The whole situation is a bummer.

[Fear The Chorizo]

How are you trading him on what will be a one year deal?

 

The same way they would have attempted trading him on the contract he had left this current offseason in the midst of a COVID-strained cap for many teams - any trade would be predicated on Rodgers being willing to restructure or sign a new deal with the team he's going to, or the team he's going to has massive cap space.

 

Will the return be anywhere near what they could have got now?

 

Yes, and it will likely be more given the fact many more teams will theoretically be potential suitors next offseason knowing a trade is a possibility long before the eve of the 2022 draft, and at least with a slightly larger 2022 salary cap that gives them room to bring in a guy with Rodgers' salary considerations.

 

What if he gets hurt/looks like he is on the decline?

 

A risk they opted to take after two years of Rodgers looking just like that and he won MVP in 2020...it's a risk but also one the Packers' brass was willing to take through the 2021 season even before all this nonsense broke. Heck, they offered him an extension and he refused, too.

 

How much will Rodgers force a trade to a specific team? Will the acquiring team require an extension?

 

Depends on both...he still doesn't have no-trade protection with his deal if I'm not mistaken. I'd imagine any team trading for him would want to rework what's left of his 1 year contract in order to both extend Rodgers and gain some cap flexibility, so I don't see that being a huge hindrance. The only thing Rodgers could do in terms of this is state he'd refuse to play for certain teams trying to trade for him and/or in turn refuse to sign any new contract with them.

[homer]

The team that trades for Rodgers would probably be the team willing to sign him to an extension. So I'm not sure the one year left on his deal matters all that much.

[homer]

Not sure the Packers really made it out that well. They got Rodgers to come back, but for a year. If they would have appeased Rodgers and locked him up for years, I would see how they won big. Is one more run with Rodgers really worth the risk here? Seems like they would have been better off trading him months ago for a massive haul. It is a decent end for the Packers after they dug their heels in to the last second. To me though, a big extension or just getting rid of him months ago would have been the best outcomes for the Packers.

 

I'm operating off the assumption that Rodgers wants out of Green Bay and will never sign an extension. Given that, I think GB did ok.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The team that trades for Rodgers would probably be the team willing to sign him to an extension. So I'm not sure the one year left on his deal matters all that much.

 

It will also be a team that he has had contact with and wants to play for. He won't necessarily have free will to pick his own landing spot, but it will just about be the case. Obviously he isn't going to end up in the NFC North. But Aaron Rodgers as a brand is worth nearly as much as Aaron Rodgers as a player, so some team will pay a premium for him.

 

Of course, perhaps he'll simply decide to hang it up if they win the Super Bowl. Yes, he's said he wants to play into his 40s, but he's also a guy who is going to have plenty of opportunities to do other things following his playing career.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Not sure the Packers really made it out that well. They got Rodgers to come back, but for a year. If they would have appeased Rodgers and locked him up for years, I would see how they won big. Is one more run with Rodgers really worth the risk here? Seems like they would have been better off trading him months ago for a massive haul. It is a decent end for the Packers after they dug their heels in to the last second. To me though, a big extension or just getting rid of him months ago would have been the best outcomes for the Packers.

 

Not sure how next off season will go, but I still see a lot of issues that could arise even if both sides want a trade. Seems destined for more off season drama. How are you trading him on what will be a one year deal? Will the return be anywhere near what they could have got now? What if he gets hurt/looks like he is on the decline? How much will Rodgers force a trade to a specific team? Will the acquiring team require an extension? Can't wait....not

 

You're assuming Rodgers wants to be locked up for years. I'm not so convinced that he does. I'm also not comprehending the "risk."

 

Rodgers had no power play and the Packers end up exactly where they wanted to be. Another run and likely moving on after the season. We're talking about a 40 year old, I don't think a one-year deal is really that big of a make-or-break thing. I don't know that the acquiring team will even want the multi-year commitment, but maybe Rodgers will. In either case I don't think that'll be a huge impediment.

 

My personal guess? Rodgers wants his next landing spot to be the precursor to a media/TV/whatever Hollywood career. He's never going to say this, but Wisconsin is not that place.

 

If ending badly means Rodgers plays somewhere else, yes it ends badly. I think at this point it's about 50/50 that they just part ways after the season and say all the right things publicly.

 

Also not buying any clubhouse chemistry stuff. Rodgers hasn't had anything but public support from anybody that matters on the roster. I don't think most of them care at all about this.

[KeithStone53151]

Not sure the Packers really made it out that well. They got Rodgers to come back, but for a year. If they would have appeased Rodgers and locked him up for years, I would see how they won big. Is one more run with Rodgers really worth the risk here? Seems like they would have been better off trading him months ago for a massive haul. It is a decent end for the Packers after they dug their heels in to the last second. To me though, a big extension or just getting rid of him months ago would have been the best outcomes for the Packers.

 

If the two options were the one provided, and locking him up for 4 more seasons beyond this year...I think the current option is far better. Rodgers will be 38 next year. I highly doubt he has 4 more good years left in him. Most qb not named Brady hit a wall at 38. Getting one more good year and being able to potentially trade him for multiple high picks including at least one 1st is way better. If Rodgers has a career average year, I think we'll easily get that from a team built to win minus the QB position. Whoever trades for him, I highly suspect he'd be willing to add a couple years to his deal if the team was built to win...heck he'd probably take the veteran minimum if said team brought in Cobb, Nelson, and James Jones to play WR.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

For the record, I don't think Rodgers is hitting any wall at 38 and I think he'll be quite good into his 40s if he wants to play. I fully expect him to be good for somebody else, but I still don't mind the Packers moving on on their own terms, not his.

[CheezWizHed]

Also not buying any clubhouse chemistry stuff. Rodgers hasn't had anything but public support from anybody that matters on the roster. I don't think most of them care at all about this.

 

It is easy to be "happy" in the offseason... When the team is facing adversity or when there are in-season struggles are when it will really test the team.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Half of the roster is pre-occupied with trying to remain a pro athlete. I don't think that a team in back-to-back NFCCG is going to be blown up from the inside because their old QB may not be playing a year later. I dislike Aaron Rodgers, but his head coach wrote him a love letter in the media in the middle of this. We can say what we want about his diva antics but he appears almost universally loved inside the building. I'm just not buying it.

 

Of course if they do start 2-3, that will become the story in the media anyway.

[MrTPlush]

You're assuming Rodgers

 

This pretty much sums up anything related to Rodgers this year thanks to a clown show in the media.

 

Honestly, people should hang out some of these reporters to dry. It is a joke. It was a few days ago some reporter was convinced Rodgers was going to sit out like 4 weeks of the regular season. Thing sure changed quick. Rodgers showing up day one to training camp always seemed predictable to me.

[adambr2]

Is it even an absolute certainty that they'll be able to trade him for compensation after '22?

 

It just seemed possible the way things are written, especially with Schefter saying that Rodgers will "get to choose" where he plays in '22, that there is a sort of handshake agreement for Rodgers to simply be released after '21 if he still wants out rather than be traded.

 

Or it could mean that he'll be traded, but he'll have say in the destination. I really don't know. In any event, I can't think of any precedent of a 38 year old QB returning significant trade compensation.

[Jopal78]

For the record, I don't think Rodgers is hitting any wall at 38 and I think he'll be quite good into his 40s if he wants to play. I fully expect him to be good for somebody else, but I still don't mind the Packers moving on on their own terms, not his.

 

That's the thing that likely created the whole situation: Not even Rodgers himself knows how long his body will allow him to play at a high level. I understand Rodgers being miffed the team didn't respect him and his stated desire to play into his 40s. However, that's the smart play by the Packers as the number of QBs in the last twenty years who played effectively into their mid-40s can be counted on one finger.

 

Even after this saga what did Rodgers really get, he got to skip the off-season workouts, tweak the front office and team executives, and a voidable year on his contract when he's 40 years old.

 

We'll see when the ink is dry on the details of this deal, the initial reports are that Rodgers is giving the Packers salary relief without taking a cut in pay, which likely means he's signing an extension so they can convert his salary to bonus money and spread it out over the term of the contract. Likely with voidable years by Rodgers in the future. I would also be surprised if the Packers don't have a mechanism to control Rodgers for the 2022 season in some fashion.

[xisxisxis]

After some of the dust has settled, it appears to me that this was all done because Rodgers wants out of GB. This is his idea as to the best approach to get what he wants while retaining his legacy with the Packers. His personal life is changing and his post-football career asperations are not compatible with a 6-month job in northern Wisconsin. Rodgers blew everything up simply because he calculated an approach that provided the optimal benefit to him no matter the fallout to others. Gute has been dragged through the mud, Murphy has been under a microscope for his actions and all so Aaron could get out of GB with as little fallout as possible. He can always claim the team pushed him out because they refused to give him what he is "due" and the team can't air their dirty laundry in public so they just swallow the crap Rodgers dishes out. What a class act.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Is it even an absolute certainty that they'll be able to trade him for compensation after '22?

 

It just seemed possible the way things are written, especially with Schefter saying that Rodgers will "get to choose" where he plays in '22, that there is a sort of handshake agreement for Rodgers to simply be released after '21 if he still wants out rather than be traded.

 

Or it could mean that he'll be traded, but he'll have say in the destination. I really don't know. In any event, I can't think of any precedent of a 38 year old QB returning significant trade compensation.

 

QBs only fairly recently started playing that late and if they did, they weren't all that good. In the rare cases they were good, there is rarely an heir apparent on the roster due to the financial commitment you have to make to the position. I don't think the problem on the trade market is going to be that Rodgers isn't good or teams don't think he is good. The problem is going to be that it is league-known massive headache for the Packers now. It only takes 2 teams to drive the price up, but there's a point where you just get sick of dealing with it and have to move on.

 

A lot has to go right for a team to step up. They need space to pay Aaron, presumably close to contention (though one could argue Tampa didn't look all that close in '19), and a spot he wants to play. Then they've got to be willing to abandon whatever QB plan they have going and give up some asset to get him.

[Jopal78]

You're assuming Rodgers

 

This pretty much sums up anything related to Rodgers this year thanks to a clown show in the media.

 

Honestly, people should hang out some of these reporters to dry. It is a joke. It was a few days ago some reporter was convinced Rodgers was going to sit out like 4 weeks of the regular season. Thing sure changed quick. Rodgers showing up day one to training camp always seemed predictable to me.

 

In the end, money talks, always. Rodgers was not likely going to subject himself to $50,000 a day fines for holding out of training camp; and was never going to cut the Packers a check to pay back the bonus money the team would have been entitled to if he held out.

 

He had "his people" feed the media nuggets of a story while remaining virtually silent so he can have plausible deniability to the notion he would never play for the Packers again.

[MrTPlush]

Is it even an absolute certainty that they'll be able to trade him for compensation after '22?

 

It just seemed possible the way things are written, especially with Schefter saying that Rodgers will "get to choose" where he plays in '22, that there is a sort of handshake agreement for Rodgers to simply be released after '21 if he still wants out rather than be traded.

 

Or it could mean that he'll be traded, but he'll have say in the destination. I really don't know. In any event, I can't think of any precedent of a 38 year old QB returning significant trade compensation.

 

I am guessing there is absolutely zero way the Packers would go into any agreement where he can just walk after the year. Rodgers will likely get to choose because both sides have agreed to move on after the year if Rodgers wants out (via trade)...not repeat this summer all over again.

 

There is no way they would agree to just release him. It makes absolutely no sense for the Packers. I think their front office has botched this entire situation...but they gotta be smarter than that.

[adambr2]

Is it even an absolute certainty that they'll be able to trade him for compensation after '22?

 

It just seemed possible the way things are written, especially with Schefter saying that Rodgers will "get to choose" where he plays in '22, that there is a sort of handshake agreement for Rodgers to simply be released after '21 if he still wants out rather than be traded.

 

Or it could mean that he'll be traded, but he'll have say in the destination. I really don't know. In any event, I can't think of any precedent of a 38 year old QB returning significant trade compensation.

 

I am guessing there is absolutely zero way the Packers would go into any agreement where he can just walk after the year. Rodgers will likely get to choose because both sides have agreed to move on after the year if Rodgers wants out (via trade)...not repeat this summer all over again.

 

There is no way they would agree to just release him. It makes absolutely no sense for the Packers. I think their front office has botched this entire situation...but they gotta be smarter than that.

 

They really have to get something. I know Peyton Manning was released by the Colts and not traded to Denver, but I don't remember exactly how different the circumstances were.

[homer]

You're assuming Rodgers

 

This pretty much sums up anything related to Rodgers this year thanks to a clown show in the media.

 

Honestly, people should hang out some of these reporters to dry. It is a joke. It was a few days ago some reporter was convinced Rodgers was going to sit out like 4 weeks of the regular season. Thing sure changed quick. Rodgers showing up day one to training camp always seemed predictable to me.

 

In the end, money talks, always. Rodgers was not likely going to subject himself to $50,000 a day fines for holding out of training camp; and was never going to cut the Packers a check to pay back the bonus money the team would have been entitled to if he held out.

 

He had "his people" feed the media nuggets of a story while remaining virtually silent so he can have plausible deniability to the notion he would never play for the Packers again.

 

If the reports that he turned down a bajillion dollar extension are true, then the money didn't talk.

[Fear The Chorizo]

It just seemed possible the way things are written, especially with Schefter saying that Rodgers will "get to choose" where he plays in '22, that there is a sort of handshake agreement for Rodgers to simply be released after '21 if he still wants out rather than be traded.

 

Based on his track record for this, if Schefter is saying he'll "get to choose", that means Rodgers will sign a mid-season extension with the Packers. Speculating about what potential terms of a handshake agreement between Rodgers and Packers' brass based on Schefter's predictions at this point isn't worth anyone's time. He's simply been proven incredibly wrong.

[Jopal78]

 

I am guessing there is absolutely zero way the Packers would go into any agreement where he can just walk after the year. Rodgers will likely get to choose because both sides have agreed to move on after the year if Rodgers wants out (via trade)...not repeat this summer all over again.

 

There is no way they would agree to just release him. It makes absolutely no sense for the Packers. I think their front office has botched this entire situation...but they gotta be smarter than that.

 

Exactly, I believe in addition to Adams they have multiple other pass-catcher heading into free agency. It would impair the Packers negotiating if those players knew Rodgers was gone after the year. Moreover, imagine the discord it would create if the team flopped out of the gate, with Rodgers eyeing his exit.