Packers’ Zach Tom Has New Contract; Now He’ll Finally Splurge

Zach Tom has a new contract. Now he’ll be looking for a new set of wheels.

The car the Green Bay Packers’ highly paid right tackle drives is the same one he drove at Wake Forest.

“A 2016 Charger, base edition. No tinted windows, nothing. A basic white Charger,” he said following the first practice of training camp on Wednesday.

With Tom en route to Green Bay on Monday for the start of training camp, the Packers and Tom’s agent, Michael Hoffman, agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $88 million. By average salary, he ranks third among right tackles behind only the two players who beat him out in the All-Pro vote, the Lions’ Penei Sewell and the Eagles’ Lane Johnson.

Tom found out while at baggage claim.

“I called my family,” he said. “They were obviously excited. Shed a couple tears, but I didn’t really get too much time to formally celebrate it. Maybe I’ll do something the next off-day.”

Tom was one of the last picks of the fourth round in 2022. A standout left tackle in college, many scouts believed Tom would wind up at guard or center. Instead, he’s holding down the fort at a critical position.

“I pride myself on being versatile,” he said. “If they need me to play wherever, I’ll be there. I got an opportunity here to play. My rookie year, obviously, I was all over the place, but then my second year I was able to cement myself at right tackle and I did pretty good. And then last year, I did pretty good, too. It’s just one of those things where you get the opportunity, you’ve got to capitalize.”

How has Tom been “pretty good,” to use his understated response, at a position manned by giants? While his Relative Athletic Score was elite, that was because of his athleticism. At 6-foot-4 1/4 and 304 pounds, he is incredibly undersized relative to other tackles.

“Appreciate it,” Tom said with a smile when his average measurables were mentioned.

It wasn’t meant as a slight. Despite the lack of desired height, weight and length, Tom has blossomed into one of the best in the business.

“It just goes back to technique,” he said. “Coming here to practice every day, focusing on being consistent with your technique, trusting your technique. Obviously, when you’re smaller, you might have plays where you might not trust your technique and that’s when you get beat.

“It’s going out there and being consistent, working through it every day, watching film, obviously, being good with your feet. Just being good with where your strengths are, being athletic, being good with your feet, using your hands, using your leverage. Obviously, like you said, I am not normal size for a right tackle. It’s about using your advantages where you have them.”

Tom has “locked down” the right tackle position, general manager Brian Gutekunst said before practice. That’s no small feat considering the number of elite pass rushers he’s tasked with handling.

“It’s awesome,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “I’m very happy for him. I think he’s very deserving of that. He’s been a guy who’s balled out since he got here. Really came in, made a name for himself at that right tackle position and, like I said, just balled. He’s a guy that’s very humble, keeps his head down, he just comes in ready to work, always about the right stuff. There’s no one more deserving so I’m happy for him.”

With money comes validation of the player he’s become. With money also comes expectations.

Is there pressure that comes with paycheck?

“it’s always pressure,” he said. “There was pressure last year. There was pressure my rookie year. There’s always pressure. Yeah, I guess you could say you got to go out there and earn it, but especially at this position, you could have one bad play and it’s a bad game. It’s always pressure at this position and that’s not going to change.”

As for the new car, Tom isn’t sure what he’s going to get. Before going to the dealership, he said he’d consult with some of the teams who were so happy for him for signing an extension.

“It was good. They were all supportive,” he said. “A lot of ‘What up, Big Money?’ (and) all that. They were all hyped up, pumped up, so that was exciting to see they’re excited to see me get paid. Because sometimes that can lead to some jealously and stuff. They were all excited. Now it’s just time to get back to work and just be out there. I’m not going to change who I am. I’m still going to go out there and give it my all.”

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