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The New York Jets season has been a huge disappointment. Even with Aaron Rodgers fully healthy, the team is 2-6, and the playoffs seem like a pipe dream. Head coach Robert Saleh has been fired, and the Jets are winless since that decision and with Jeff Ulbrich as the interim head coach.
Now, everyone's job is at risk — that includes general manager Joe Douglas and even Aaron Rodgers himself.
The Jets acquired Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers for significant draft capital and did everything in their power to acquiesce the veteran player. It's only worth it if Rodgers is playing at a high level and the team is winning.
With Rodgers getting older and potentially a new management structure in place, it's possible that the Jets decide to move in another direction next season, and Rodgers could end up playing elsewhere — or nowhere.
Contract details
Aaron Rodgers is under contract for 2025, but his salary is not guaranteed, so a trade or release is totally plausible if that's what the Jets want.
The veteran quarterback is slated to make $2.5 million in base salary and $35 million in a roster bonus that must be exercised before the 2025 regular season. For the Jets, it's a $23.5 million cap hit, because this roster bonus would be automatically converted into a signing bonus and prorated through five years using voids, just like they did this season.
If Rodgers gets released or is traded before June, the Jets would have $49 million in dead money — so the team would actually lose $25.5 million in cap space in 2025, but open up a lot of space down the road.
New York would also have the option to apply a post-June 1st designation in the case of a release or execute the trade after that date, which would bring Rodgers' cap hit down to $14 million in 2025, but the remaining $35 million would hit in 2026.
Dead money
If released
- Pre-June 1: $49 million in 2025
- Post-June 1: $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026 (the team would only gain cap space in June)
If traded
- Pre-June 1: $49 million in 2025
- Post-June 1: $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026 (there's no post-June 1st designation for trades, so the Jets would have to actually wait until June to execute the deal, delaying the draft capital compensation to 2026).
Analysis
If the Jets are willing to start over, it's financially feasible to move on from Aaron Rodgers. Teams have recently shown that if that's the intention, it's better to take the cap hit as soon as possible, without delaying it with a post-June 1st move, to clear the decks when the roster is still bad.
For New York, it would be a matter of which path it would take. First of all, Aaron Rodgers has to decide if he wants to keep playing football or not. If he doesn't, he retires and the Jets can't do much about it.
If Rodgers wants to extend his career even more, the Jets would look at the market to see if there's anyone interested in giving up some draft capital for the veteran — it would certainly be much less than what the Jets paid last year, but anything is important for a rebuilding process. And if nobody is willing to pay, a release is the last possible avenue.
It's been a tough season for the Jets, and the projection for the next couple of years isn't much better. From the ownership down, the franchise has tough decisions to make, and the future of Aaron Rodgers is maybe the most important and consequential one.
More must-reads:
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- 49ers rookie becomes much more important after latest Nick Bosa injury
- The 'Multiple 30-TD pass NFL seasons' quiz
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