Aaron Rodgers signs reworked contract with Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has agreed to a reworked contract with the New York Jets, taking a significant pay cut to help out his new team.
Rodgers agreed to a two-year, fully guaranteed $75 million contract with the Jets, a source told ESPN, confirming a report by NFL Network. It represents a pay cut of $33.715 million from the $108.715 million he was still owed on the contract he signed with the Packers in 2022.
He has not yet signed the reworked contract, a source told ESPN. The agreement has been in place for weeks; all that awaits is Rodgers’ signature.
The Jets’ salary cap will be reduced by the same amount as his pay cut which will allow the Jets to acquire far more talent than they would have been able to acquire under the contract assumed from the Green Bay Packers in April. No team sport player has ever revised his contract in such a team-focused way.
Rodgers confirmed the agreement Wednesday after practice but wouldn’t divulge details of the deal. He said it would become official later in the day.
The contract reflects what he has been saying in recent days — that he plans to play more than one season with the Jets.
“The team gave up significant pieces for it to just be a one-year deal,” Rodgers, who will turn 40 in December, said. “I’m aware of that. … Anything could happen with my body or the success we have this year, but I’m having a blast, so I really don’t see this as a one-year-and-done thing.”
To facilitate his trade to the Jets, Rodgers restructured his contract with the Packers in April, pushing a $58.3 million option bonus — fully guaranteed — into 2024, the final year of the deal.
Basically, the four-time NFL MVP was on the books for three months at the minimum salary in 2023 — only $1.2 million against the cap. Although the ridiculously low cap number provided flexibility for the Jets, it left a prohibitive cap charge in 2024: $107.6 million.
Rodgers and the Jets agreed from the outset to rework the deal. The revised contract likely will reflect more balance between the cap hits. It will be interesting to see whether Rodgers still receives his $58.3 million guarantee or agrees to take less.
ProFootballTalk.com first reported news of Rodgers’ revised contract Tuesday night.
From day one, Rodgers has talked glowingly about the Jets. He continued that Wednesday. Looking back on his monumental move from Green Bay, where he started for 15 seasons, Rodgers said, “We’ve all turned the page. It’s a new chapter. I think it’s going to be exciting for Green Bay, moving on. It’s definitely been really fun for me out here.”
The Jets, who have the NFL’s longest playoff drought at 12 years, have been energized by Rodgers’ presence. Players and coaches have raved about his knowledge of the game and his all-in approach.
“I mean, the guy glows in the dark,” coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s a pretty damn good quarterback.”
Rodgers has embraced the attention. He also has elevated the play of the offense, which finished 29th in scoring. “Change can be difficult, for sure, especially when it’s that drastic — 18 years in one spot,” Rodgers said. “If you can lean into it and embrace it, there’s some really beautiful things on the other side.
The offense wasn’t beautiful Wednesday, as it struggled through its worst day. Most of the problems stemmed from the reshuffled offensive line, which is without left tackle Duane Brown (shoulder). Former starting left tackle Mekhi Becton, working with the backups, sat out with residual soreness on his surgically repaired right knee. He’s day-to-day.
“Today was kind of a step back a little bit,” Rodgers said. “Felt a little tired as a whole. Mentally, we made a lot of mistakes. We have to clean some stuff up. It’s part of training camp.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter contributed to this report.