Aaron Rodgers gave the Green Bay Packers and their fans something to celebrate recently when he committed to return for the 2022 season, but he initially disputed reports of a megadeal having been signed at that time. Fast forward to now and, well, there's nothing in that regard to dispute anymore, because the numbers are in and it's official: Rodgers is a very, very wealthy man, even beyond the tax bracket he already called home.
His new deal is essentially a four-year contract worth just under $160 million, per CBS sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, but things get exceedingly complex upon review of the paperwork.
It contains two dummy (void) years on the back end that serve as placeholders and allow the Packers to spread the cap hit more evenly, per NFL Network, and drops his 2022 salary cap hit from $46.66 million to roughly $28 million. Rodgers will earn $150.6 million of the aforementioned $160 million in the first three years of his contract ($50 million average per season), including a robust $136.5 million over the next two seasons, the latter breaking down to $74.5 million to be earned in 2022 and $62 million set to be earned in 2023.
Here are the cap hits for each of the next three seasons:
- 2022: $28.5 million (decreased from $46.7 million)
- 2023: $31.6 million (increased from $7.7 million -- previously voidable season)
- 2024: $40.7 million
In all, when combined with a slew of other business done by the Packers to begin 2022 NFL free agency -- i.e., Preston Smith's and De'Vondre Campbell's extensions and the release of both linebacker Za'Darius Smith and offensive lineman Billy Turner -- the team freed up tons of cap space but it'll come with a downside if Rodgers decides to leave after the 2023 season. That's because, if he does, the Packers will be on the hook for $68.20 million in dead money, a risk in the future that serves as a tradeoff for being able to gain cap space in the present.
And with their biggest exclamation point now finalized, the Packers can get back to other pressing matters, such as the refusal of All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to play under the assigned franchise tag in 2022. There's plenty of cap space now to get that deal done, the only questions being if and when.