The Fine Mess That Could Await Rodgers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – What happens if Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn’t report for the mandatory minicamp next month? How about the start of training camp?
In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, SI.com’s Albert Breer detailed the potential fines that await the MVP quarterback.
Veteran minicamp (June 15 to 17): This is the first mandatory activity for Green Bay players, and Rodgers is subject to up to $95,877 for missing the three-day event. That’s not nothing, but I’d imagine he might be willing to swallow it prove his point.
Training camp (late July): Where the rubber meets the road. Under the new CBA, the team is required to fine him $50,000 per day and, because he’s not on a rookie contract, they can not go back and forgive those fines after they’re assessed, the way teams used to routinely do after holdouts came back in. That means missing the first 10 days of camp, which wouldn’t even get him to the first preseason game, would cost half a million bucks.
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First preseason weekend (Aug. 12 to 15): For each preseason game missed, Rodgers would be fined the equivalent of a regular-season game check. For Rodgers, that’s $816,666.67.
That’s serious money, though a mere drop in the bucket when compared to Rodgers’ career earnings on the field, let alone the untold millions of dollars he’s earned in endorsements.
Embroiled in a standoff with the franchise that drafted him in 2005, Rodgers has several options to consider. The most costly of those decisions would be retiring, since he’d have to pay back tens of millions of dollars.
After falling short in back-to-back NFC Championship Games with Rodgers, coach Matt LaFleur made it clear he wants the reigning MVP back to make another run at a Super Bowl.
“I know the reports out there,” he said. “I mean, this guy is our quarterback, man, and he’s the leader of our team, and I want nothing more than to see him back in a Packer uniform. You know, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot of great feats over the last two years – two straight NFC Championship Games. I know the seasons haven’t ended the way we’ve wanted them to, but in my eyes he’s the greatest to ever do it. I don’t care about Super Bowls or whatnot, but we want him back here.”
