Aaron Rodgers open to reworking deal if he plays in 2023
Aaron Rodgers acknowledged that he is aware of the financial side of it but has not yet decided whether or with which team he would continue his NFL career in 2023.
He acknowledged Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that as a result, he is aware that the Green Bay Packers or any other team are unlikely to be interested in his current contract.
As part of the three-year, $150 million deal extension Rodgers signed in March, $59.465 million is guaranteed if he plays in 2023. For the upcoming season, it has a salary-cap charge of $31,623,570.
“There’s a lot of teams, because of COVID, that are strapped, and you’re seeing with a lot of different contracts, they’re pushing more money out in deals,” Rodgers said on the show. “They’re creating void years to allow for an easier cap hit, so there would have to be some adjustments, for sure.”
Because of the contract’s present terms, trading Rodgers is challenging but not impossible, largely because doing so would leave the Packers with a sizable sum of dead money on their salary cap.
The first thing Rodgers needs to do is decide if he wants to play, and if so, whether it will be for the Packers or another team.
“All the other ideas about [a] trade and whatnot, that’s all conjecture until I decide what I want to do moving forward for myself,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers declared last summer that he “absolutely” intended to end his career with the Packers. McAfee left the door open for other options last week on his broadcast.
“I hope there’s some gratitude on both sides if that happens,” Rodgers said Tuesday. “But again, that doesn’t open the door for any conjecture, honestly, on my side. And I’m not saying that to be cryptic. I’ve got to figure out what I want to do, and then we’ll see where all the parties at and what kind of transpires after that.”
Rodgers also insisted that his decision to join the Packers again may not have been his, despite the fact that the group has made it clear publicly that it welcomes him back.
“If they feel like it was in the best interests of the team to move forward, so be it,” he said. “Again, that wouldn’t offend me, and it wouldn’t make me feel like a victim. I wouldn’t have any animosity towards the team. I love the organization, I love the city, I love the region. I’m a minority owner in the [Milwaukee] Bucks; I’m going to be a part of the region long after I’m done playing. I have a lot of love for what’s gone on in Green Bay. And I’d love to finish there, I would. I might have finished there. Who knows?”
The 39-year-old Rodgers earned the MVP title in 2020 and 2021, but in 2022, he had one of his poorest seasons. In any season in which he played at least 15 games, he passed for the fewest yards (3,695) and the most interceptions (12) in almost a decade. He never had a passing game with 300 yards or more. Throughout the season, he also contended with a fractured thumb, rib, and knee problems.
The Packers earned their first losing record (8–9) since 2018 and missed the playoffs for the first time under head coach Matt LaFleur. Any prospect that backup quarterback Jordan Love would start a game was eliminated because the Packers were in the postseason race right up until the finish.
“What’s the old adage that people want to say? ‘Oh, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side,’” Rodgers said. “And I always say, ‘The grass is green where you water it.’ I think that’s the most important thing to remember. Change is a part of this business, it’s a part of life, and I think being open to it and embracing whatever that change looks like is an important part of coming to peace with whatever decision lies ahead of you. I think that’s the most important kind of peace I want to get to is mentally feeling good about where I’m at. If I want to hang it up and do that, having the peace to do that.”
