It IS Jordan Love Time !!
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Love could command bigger extension than Lawrence landed
Love probably has a better chance of surpassing Lawrence's deal. Both Love and the Green Bay Packers seem intent on reaching an agreement before veterans report to training camp on July 21.Love is scheduled to make $11 million in 2024 after signing a one-year, $13.5 million contract extension worth up to $22.5 million through salary escalators in May 2023. The deal was in lieu of the Packers making a decision about picking up the 2020 first-round pick's fully guaranteed $20.272 million fifth-year option for 2024.
Love took a big step forward over the second half of the 2023 season. He performed at an elite level, which translated into team success. Love completed 70.3% of his passes for 2,150 yards with 18 touchdowns and just one interception to post a 112.7 passer rating while the Packers went 6-2 to secure a playoff berth. Overall, Love completed 64.2% of his passes for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to post a 96.1 passer rating. He ranked second and seventh respectively in the NFL for touchdown passes and passing yards last season.
Love was the best quarterback on the field in Green Bay's shocking wild-card game win over the Dallas Cowboys with 2023 NFL MVP runner-up Dak Prescott as his counterpart. He more than held his own in a divisional playoff loss against the San Francisco 49ers. The opposing quarterback, Brock Purdy, was also an NFL MVP finalist.
The Packers aren't strangers to having the NFL's highest-paid player. It was done with Aaron Rodgers' 2013, 2018 and 2022 deals. Most notably, Love outperformed Rodgers' last season with the Packers in 2022 as a first-year starter last season. Coming off back-to-back NFL MVP seasons, 2022 was a down year by a then-39-year-old Rodgers' standards. He completed 64.6% of his passes for 3,695 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a 91.1 passer rating. The Packers missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record. Rodgers' request to be traded to the New York Jets was granted following the season.
Lawrence's contract could be the impetus for Love being at the top of NFL salary totem pole, especially if the Packers feel his performance over the second half of the 2023 season and the playoffs is a sign of things to come.
Hurts, Jackson and Justin Herbert each took a turn as the NFL's salary king in 2023 before Burrow signed. The smallest increase among the four quarterbacks who become the league's highest paid player was Herbert getting 0.96% more than Jackson's $52 million per year. Burrow got the biggest jump. His deal is 4.76% more than Herbert's $52.5 million per year with the Los Angeles Chargers.
The average increase was 2.3%. Should the Packers be inclined to do something similar for Love, his extension could average $56.25 million per year.
Presumably, the Packers will make the major structural accommodation to Love that was consistently done for Rodgers in order to consummate a deal. Generally, Green Bay is in the dark ages when it comes to structuring contracts for veteran players. The only guaranteed money in Green Bay veteran contracts is a signing bonus and/or a roster bonus payable within a few days of signing. The bigger deals contain an unsecured third or fifth day of the league year roster bonus in the second and third years. The roster bonuses are supposed to be substitutes for additional contract guarantees. The overall guarantees in Packers contracts are less than comparable deals on other teams.
Rodgers has been the lone exception. His 2013, 2018 and 2022 deals had traditional salary guarantees.
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