The Green Bay Packers want to extend Jordan Love, here's what his new contract would look like

Seven games into Rodgers’ impressive first starting campaign, the Packers signed him to a contract that carried a $12,704,000 APY and front loaded the first year base salary, giving him a 2008 cap hit of $13,952,500. He earned the third-most cash amongst all quarterbacks that year according to OverTheCap.com, and his cap hit immediately became the 4th highest. The third-highest cash earnings by a quarterback in 2024 is currently Josh Allen’s $60 million, and the fourth highest cap hit would be Matthew Stafford’s $49,500,000.

This comparison alone would suggest a $50,000,000 APY deal, with $62,000,000 in year-one cash flow for Jordan Love. The APY ranking fifth behind Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts would actually be a conservative estimate, as Rodgers was actually given an APY only surpassed by Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer.

If Jordan Love deserves to be within reach of those top-earners, how does his one year as a starter compare against their contract years? Since Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts are a very different brand of quarterback with a unique rushing element to their game, focusing on Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert will paint a clearer picture. Adding pocket passers Kirk Cousins and Matt Stafford into the mix will verify if Love is bracketed correctly.

Love's 2023 stats: 64.25% completion rate, 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 7.18 YPA, 18.09 attempts per touchdown passes, and 52.64 attempts per interceptions.

Love’s yards are a little lower than his peers, mostly because of his significantly lower attempts. However, if you look at his efficiency metrics, he only falls behind Stafford and Burrow in yards per attempt and attempts per touchdown, and boasts the second highest attempts between interceptions. He sandwiches into this bracket perfectly.

Since we compared Love’s first starting years to Burrow and Herbert’s third starting seasons, running the same exercise against Burrow and Herbert’s rookie seasons could be an interesting exercise.

Burrow’s season ended early with an MCL and ACL tear in his left knee, but Love’s efficiency metrics for pushing the ball downfield and scoring touchdowns blew him away. However, Burrow did an exemplary job protecting the football.

Love’s season was very similar to Herbert’s, who won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and immediately inserted himself into the conversation of elite quarterbacks in the league.

Given all this context, Packers fans should be thrilled with a $50,000,000 APY for Jordan Love. The Packers may push to get the years Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow received, and Love will want to get back to the negotiating table armed with multiple years of play that at least matches his 2023 season. Hitting the $50 million APY mark and sneaking into the top-five of all quarterback APY’s after only one season will be enough of a consolation or the Packers to lean on him to take four years, back loaded in year four to dissuade the possibility of a franchise tag ensuing.

Final Contract Projection: 4 Years, $200,000,000, $140,000,000 fully guaranteed