Aaron Rodgers Confirms He's Staying With Packers, Disputes Report of 4-Year, $200 Million Deal
Aaron Rodgers will remain quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the four-time NFL MVP has decided he will remain with the team that drafted him out of Cal in 2005. Pat McAfee and the NFL Network were the first to report the news.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network then reported that Rodgers will get a four-year, $200 million contract, making him the highest-paid player in league history. Significant is that $153 million is guaranteed and his salary cap number will go down.
Rodgers confirmed in a tweet that he is staying with the Packers, but said the report about him signing a contract is inaccurate:
Rapoport talks about the deal on TV:
McAfee tweeted that news of the four-year, $200 million is "is not accurate ... according to my sources." McAfee, who is close to Rodgers, also reported that retirement was "a real consideration."
McAfee's comments about Rapoport's report are about seven minutes and 30 seconds into this video:
Rodgers, 38, and the Packers are close to a deal that would lower his salary-cap number for the 2022 season, according to ESPN, which presumably will help the franchise keep Davante Adams, Rodgers’ favorite receiver. Rapoport reported the Packers are expected to franchise tag Adams.
Packers fans have always wanted Rodgers to return.
Photo by Mark Hoffman, USA Today
The news had an immediate impact on the Packers' odds to win the Super Bowl next season.
The Packers had been around 16-to-1 to win the Super Bowl at nearly every betting site prior to news that Rodgers would re-sign with Green Bay. But after that news on Tuesday FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM odds on the Packers winning the Super Bowl went down to 10-to-1. PointsBet now lists the Packers at 11-to-1, and Caesars Sportsbook has Green Bay at 12-to-1.
Rich Eisen's reactions to the news that Rodgers is remaining a Packer:
And Colin Cowherd has his say:
Stephen A. Smith gives his two cents:
And ESPN's Marcus Spears has the last word:
Rodgers’ relationship with the organization has been at times strained since the Packers surprised him by drafting quarterback Jordan Love in 2020. General manager Brian Gutekunst made that call, prompting unhappiness from Rodgers, who wasn’t consulted before the draft.
Late in the 2020 season Rodgers called his future with the organization “a beautiful mystery,” but it also was widely reported that he told others he was so unhappy with the franchise he would never play with the Packers again.
Rodgers sat out all offseason team activities, including mini-camp, but eventually mended those fences and reported just before training camp after signing a restructured contract that eliminated the final year of his deal in 2023, making it easier for him to leave the team after the 2021 season.
He went on to lead the Packers to a 13-4 record and into the playoffs this past fall, winning his second straight MVP. He passed for 4,115 yards with 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions, giving him four-year totals of 136 TDs and just 15 picks.
Rodgers’ relationship with Gutekunst also improved and he went out of his way to praise the Packers’ GM for off-field moves he made to try to help the team. After last year’s drama dragged out into the summer, Rodgers promised he would make a decision about 2022 in a timely manner, for the benefit of all.
But he stressed that he had no interest in being part of rebuild, which seemed possible considering that the Packers entered the offseason $45 million over the salary cap. That fueled speculation that Rodgers could be traded, perhaps to Denver, or that he might even retire.
After the 2021 season, when it became obvious that Rodgers remained by far the Packers’ best option at quarterback, the organization began campaigning for his return. Coach Matt LaFleur said the team would "be crazy not to want him back here.”
And now he’s back.
It was an eventful year on and off the field for Rodgers.
He led the Packers to 13 wins for third straight season, which set an NFL record of sorts for 39 combined wins over three seasons without a Super Bowl appearance.
Rodgers broke Brett Favre’s club record of 442 career touchdown passes. He now has 449.
He also served as guest host for two weeks on the TV game show Jeopardy!
But Rodgers’ popularity with some took a hit when he misled the public about his vaccination status by saying last summer that has been “immunized.” He tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 3 and shortly afterward acknowledged that he had not been vaccinated but used a treatment method not among those approved by the NFL.
Rodgers played two seasons at Cal, passing for 5,469 yards with 43 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on teams that were a combined 18-8 in 2003 and ’04.
He was projected as a high first-round draft pick but slid to No. 24, allowing the Packers to select him. After sitting behind Favre his first three seasons, Rodgers has been the Packers’ starter the past 14 seasons.
His career totals include 55,360 yards, 449 TD passes and 93 interceptions. His career passer rating of 104.5 is exceeded in NFL history only by Patrick Mahomes, who has played just five seasons. Rodgers won MVPs in 2011, ’14, ’20 and ’21 and led the Packers to a 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season.
With his return, Love will sit one more season as understudy, his third year on the bench.
Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Mark Hoffman, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
