Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been terrific to start the 2023 season.
Getty Images
Aaron Rodgers had started just seven games for the Green Bay Packers when general manager Ted Thompson took action.
It was Oct. 31, 2008, and Rodgers was less than halfway through his first season as the Packers’ starting quarterback. During a bye week that year, Thompson inked Rodgers to a six-year, $65 million extension that made him the NFL’s fourth-highest paid quarterback.
At the time, Rodgers had a 4-3 record as a starter — and would go just 2-7 the rest of that 2008 campaign. Still, Thompson and the Packers had seen enough to lock Rodgers up long term.
“As we talked about in the past, we try to be proactive in our discussions with our current players and we felt like this was an appropriate time to try to come to an agreement with Aaron,” Thompson said at the time. “We feel like this is good for the organization and the players, and we will continue this approach as we move forward.”
The Packers have continued that approach the past 15 years.
Now, it’s time for them to use it again and sign Jordan Love for the foreseeable future.
Love will make just his fourth career start when the Packers host the Detroit Lions tonight. But much like Rodgers back in 2008, the Packers should already know what they have in Love.
Love is 24, the same age Rodgers was when he signed his first extension with Green Bay. Love is in his fourth year with the organization — just like Rodgers was.
And Love has been remarkably impressive in his first few career starts — much like, well, you know who.
Love signed a contract extension through the 2024 season in May that included an $8.8 million signing bonus, $15.3 million in guarantees and the possibility of making $24.8 million total between 2023 and 2024.
The Packers lowered Love’s base salary in 2023 to the minimum of $1.01 million, but gave him the signing bonus upfront, which provided a $7 million raise this year. Green Bay also guaranteed Love’s base salary of $5.5 million in 2024 and made another $9 million available in escalators.
Love currently ranks 33rd among quarterbacks in 2023 salary cap hit at $4.41 million, 23rd in total cash for this season ($9.8M) and 54th in base salary ($1.01M).
It was a good deal for both sides. First, it gave Love more guaranteed money this season than he would have earned on his initial rookie contract. It also gave Green Bay a chance to take a longer look at Love to determine if he was its long-term answer at quarterback.
Granted, Love’s sample size to date is small. But the Packers have had almost 3 ½ years to evaluate Love since drafting him with the 26th overall pick in April, 2020.
Now, each time Love takes the field — and shines — the price tag goes up.
“He’s definitely earned himself a nice raise with these first few games,” one agent told me Wednesday. “If he keeps it up, he’s looking at a pretty big pay day.”
Through three games, Love is third in the NFL in touchdown passes (seven), has thrown just one interception and ranks 13th in passer rating (94.7). He has Green Bay off to a 2-1 start despite the fact top wideout Christian Watson has yet to play, running back Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari have missed two games and Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins has missed 1 ½ games.
Love threw six touchdowns without an interception as the Packers split their first two road games. He then rallied Green Bay from a 17-0, fourth quarter deficit Sunday for an 18-17 win over New Orleans. That marked just the second time in franchise history the Packers won a game after trailing by 17-plus points entering the fourth quarter.
“He’s just got swag,” cornerback Rasul Douglas said of Love. “He knows he’s that guy. He knows the offense is only going to go as far as he takes them.”
Outside linebacker Preston Smith agreed.
“We know what he can do, and as long as we have his back and we stay consistent, he can keep us in any game, and we can win any game with him as our quarterback,” Smith said. “Jordan Love has a lot of ability, man, to win games in this league. A lot of games.”
As good as Love has been on the field, he might be even better off it.
Rodgers often ruffled feathers for calling out teammates and coaches, or embarrassing them on the field with a variety of antics. Love’s leadership style has been the exact opposite, and he already seems beloved in his own locker room.
“I think the poise that he shows is really remarkable,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Love. “I think the leadership that he shows is unbelievable. Those guys, they’re going to fight for him. I think everybody in that locker room is going to fight for Jordan Love.”
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes recently re-worked his deal and is the NFL’s highest paid quarterback at $52.65 million per year over the next four seasons. Joe Burrow ($55M), Justin Herbert ($52.5M), Lamar Jackson ($52M), Jalen Hurts ($51M), Russell Wilson ($48.5M), Kyler Murray ($46.1M) and Deshaun Watson ($46M) come next.
If Love plays out the season — and has a Pro Bowl-level campaign — he could ask for money in that range. If the Packers already believe Love is their quarterback beyond 2024, they could be pro-active and potentially sign him to a longer deal in the range of Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ($35M) or Detroit’s Jared Goff ($33.5M).
The Packers found out in recent seasons how debilitating it can be to have one player gobble up an enormous percentage of the salary cap. Rodgers accounted for 14.54% of the cap in 2021 and 13.24% in 2022. This year, Rodgers counts for $17.78% due to his dead cap hit of $40.31 million.
The Packers will be free and clear of Rodgers’ hefty contract after this season, though, and will pick up another $21.4 million by cutting the oft-injured Bakhtiari.
If the Packers act on Love soon, they can probably keep his cap hit in the 10% range over the next several seasons. That would give Green Bay the financial flexibility to keep its gifted, young core intact and potentially chase Super Bowls through the middle part of the decade.
Love’s body of work to date is undoubtedly small. But the Packers have to be giddy with the poise, leadership and skill set he’s displayed.
The Packers gambled 15 years ago when they inked Rodgers to a long-term deal just seven starts into his career — then won a Super Bowl two seasons later.
It’s time they take a similar chance with Love.