Former NFL GM believes Jordan Love's next deal will 'reset the QB market'

It's safe to say Jordan Love's first season as a full-time starter was a success.

So much so that former NFL GM Randy Mueller believes the soon-to-be fifth-year QB's next deal with the Green Bay Packers -or a potentially different team- will "reset the quarterback market".

In other words: Love could easily be making north of $55 million per year by the time the 2025 season kicks off. Mueller has Love as the second-best free agent ahead of 2025 in his latest column, right behind Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Love might not be as polished or consistent as some others on this list, but his craft and rare top-end talent take him all the way to No. 2. He is a difference maker with upside who still needs to find his comfort zone from Sunday to Sunday. Because of his arm talent, he can hold the ball and wait for things to develop downfield longer, which is a weapon at the NFL level, especially when coupled with the anticipation, instinctive timing and touch that he flashes.

Rating him this highly is a slight bet on continued growth, but my sense is he will reset the QB market when his new deal is done. Trust me: It’s a good investment and one every NFL team is hoping it has a reason to make. - Randy Mueller, The Athletic

Right now, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is the highest-paid QB when it comes to average per year (APY), at $55 million a season. Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert is next at $52.5 million, and then it's Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson ($52 million), Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts ($51 million), and Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray ($46.1 million) rounding out the top-5.

As it currently stands, the Packers have a little more than $68.7 million in cap space and 34 rostered players in 2025, so there will definitely have to be some gymnastics to make this work in the big-picture. The actual 2025 season won't be hard to hammer out thanks to the ability to manipulate the first-year cap hit, but still, the first year of Love's new deal will obviously be part of the deal, as a whole, so all the other details need to be worked out, as well. 

It's been quite the ascension for Love, who at one point didn't look like he was the answer about halfway through the 2023 season. The Packers offense really started to click over the back half of the season, however, and we all saw what Love can be if his development continues.

And if that does indeed happen, then it's guaranteed he'll get paid in 2025. From the looks of it - it's going to be a historical pay day, as well.

But it's even more impressive to think the Packers, yet again, will have another top-notch QB for probably another decade. The franchise is simply a QB factory, at this point.