Packer Central

Packers Sign Zach Tom to Record-Setting Contract Extension

Once upon a time, Zach Tom was merely a fourth-round draft pick who might have to move to center. Now, he’s one of the highest-paid right tackles in the NFL.
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers right Zach Tom has a four-year contract extension.
Green Bay Packers right Zach Tom has a four-year contract extension. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Imagn Images

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers locked up a cornerstone of the franchise, signing right tackle Zach Tom to a four-year contract extension worth $88 million, a source confirmed on Monday.

The average is $22.0 million. Among right tackles, that puts him behind only the Lions’ Penei Sewell ($28.0 million) and the Eagles’ Lane Johnson ($25.0 million). Sewell was first-team All-Pro last season, Johnson was second-team All-Pro and Tom finished third in the voting.

Tom received a $30.2 million signing bonus; according to reports, that’s the largest ever for an offensive lineman. Sewell’s four-year, $112 million extension included $85.0 million guaranteed but only a $15.0 million bonus.

“It was a long and tough journey that began at the Combine,” Tom’s agent, Michael Hoffman, told Packers On SI. “In the end, this is where Zach wanted to be and we were able to bridge the gap and get the deal done.”

It’s a stunning rise for a player selected toward the end of the fourth round of the 2022 draft. In his NFL.com scouting report, the Wake Forest left tackle was “likely headed back to center” in the NFL. One of the best run-blocking tackles in the league, his scouting report said his “aggression level is a little lacking” in that phase. At 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds with 33-inch arms, Tom wasn’t tall enough, powerful enough or long enough to play tackle.

Supposedly.

“Once I played a little bit of football and you gain confidence in yourself, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I can really do this,” Tom said this offseason. “Yeah, absolutely, once you get in the game and start playing, you really start setting goals further on, but when I first came in, nah, I wouldn’t say that that was necessarily like my main goal. I mean, obviously, everybody wants to be elite at what they do, but it’s not like I was thinking that far ahead.”

Money talks. In his case, $88 million screams. The contract should help Tom earn the recognition he deserves, even if his path at right tackle to the highest honors is blocked by Sewell and Johnson.

“I think it’s a credit to everybody that has helped me out through my career – parents, my coaches, myself, everybody who’s been a part of my career,” he said. “But, hey, I’m just trying to do what I do, do it consistently and whatever recognition comes from that, I’ll take it.”

Right tackle is a premium position, which Tom’s contract illustrated. Most of the NFL’s top pass rushers attack from the defense’s left and against the right tackle.

With contract talks pending, Tom could have chosen to skip the voluntary offseason program, which is how Elgton Jenkins handled the contract uncertainty following his move from guard to center. Tom, however, said he chose “to do what’s best for the team.” He took the full complement of No. 1 reps throughout the spring.

“The contract situation will take care of itself,” he said. “So, I’m just here working and grinding with the guys. If I wasn’t here, I’d probably be somewhere just not doing anything. I don’t know. So, yeah, I want to be here, obviously.”

The contract adds some security to the front wall in charge of protecting Jordan Love and blocking for Jordan Love. Aaron Banks was signed to a four-year contract to play left guard, which necessitated the move to center for Jenkins, who is under contract through 2026 but almost certainly will get an extension, as well. 

Left tackle Rasheed Walker and right guard Sean Rhyan are entering their final season under contract, as was the case with Tom, but 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan is waiting in the wings and the Packers used a second-round pick in this draft on Anthony Belton.

Tom suffered a torn pectoral last offseason. When he was sidelined for the start of training camp, Green Bay’s defensive front went wild – which was why that unit garnered so much hype. The return of Tom to the lineup settled everything down.

According to Pro Football Focus, Tom went from two sacks and 33 pressures allowed in 2023 to three sacks and 24 pressures allowed in 2024. Sports Info Solutions charged Tom with four sacks allowed for a second consecutive season, but his blown-block rate on runs decreased from 10 to three.

According to PFF’s player grades, Tom was the best right tackle in the league.

“It’s a credit to the training staff,” Tom said. “They were able to get me back healthy within like four months from the injury, and I was able to practice during camp for a couple weeks. So, it’s not like I just went out there Week 1 and was just playing. I had a little acclimation period during camp. And that’s again, credit to the training staff, strength staff, everybody. And credit to me, not to toot my own horn but, sh(oot) …”

With a huge contract, Tom can toot his horn as much as he wants.

“Honestly,” he continued, “once I came back, I mean, it wasn’t perfect, but you’re just playing football – you’re trying to, at least. I try not to think about injuries because everybody’s going through something.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.