Packers, Jordan Love to pursue offseason extension

Owing in large part to the improved play of their offense down the stretch, the Packers are set to play in the wild-card round on Sunday. Green Bay’s run to the postseason despite being the youngest team in the NFL was sparked by the performance of quarterback Jordan Love, who has shown significant signs of improvement during his first year as a starter. 

Both general manager Brian Gutekunst and president Mark Murphy have publicly offered encouragement for the former first-rounder while maintaining that a full campaign would be needed for the team to truly evaluate his status as a passer worth building around. Love — and the Packers’ offense as a whole — endured growing pains early in the year, and turnovers became an issue for him. However, he compiled a highly impressive 18:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the final eight games of the season.

That success has already earned the 25-year-old considerable bonuses given the incentives in his contract. That pact — a one-year, $22.5M extension signed in May which took the place of his fifth-year option — included $13.5M guaranteed. The latter figure represents a bargain given the current market for high-end starting QBs, but Love has cashed in on numerous escalators. As detailed by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Utah State alum earned several bonuses for performance as well as leading the Packers to the postseason. He could see another $500K with a win over the Cowboys today.

Given his impressive showing late in the year, Love (who has boosted his 2023 earnings by $4.5M so far) has likely done enough to land a more permanent stay in Green Bay. Indeed, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports he and the Packers will speak about an extension this spring. Love is due $6M next year, but a multi-year pact ensuring he remains with the franchise for the foreseeable future would of course check in at a much larger price tag. Contracts cannot be extended twice within 12 months, however, so no new agreement can be finalized until at least May 4.

The Demovsky piece details the unique nature of this situation, with Love having essentially redshirted his first three seasons in the NFL. The Aaron Rodgers successor is thus a challenging case concerning working out an appropriate long-term contract. Three sources Demovsky cites project a range in AAV from $30M on the low end to upwards of $50M on the high end. It would come as little surprise if a contract fell somewhere in between those extremes, but questions will linger about a lack of sample size.

Young passers like the quartet who each eclipsed the $50M-per-year mark on their respective deals this offseason (Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow) each had more time as a starter than Love has so far. The latter has nevertheless likely done enough to price himself above other, less heralded starters, and he has proven to have chemistry with the Packers’ group of highly inexperienced pass catchers; keeping that nucleus intact for years to come would represent a logical priority for the front office.

Regardless of how the postseason shapes out for Green Bay, the status of Love’s long-term financial future will be a major storyline during the offseason. With a lengthy period in place between the end of the season and the point at which a new contract can be signed, both team and player will have a long runway to negotiate terms on what could be a sizeable raise.