Quarterback Aaron Rodgers staying with Green Bay Packers on four-year deal
Tom SilversteinGREEN BAY - The Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay will live on.
The Packers quarterback will remain with the team on a four-year deal in its pursuit of a Super Bowl title after three straight playoff disappointments, according to multiple reports.
Rodgers and the Packers have agreed to terms on a four-year, $200 million deal that makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history, according to the NFL Network. He reportedly will get $153 million guaranteed.
The reported deal would keep Rodgers, who turned 38 last December, with the team until he's 42.
The news of Rodgers returning was first reported by Pat McAfee of "The Pat McAfee Show" and the NFL Network.
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McAfee said the contract numbers and terms had not been finalized but that it is a "cap-friendly" deal that will help the Packers retain other players.
However, NFL network reported Rodgers has agreed to a four-year, $200 million contract extension that includes $153 million of guaranteed money, which would top the previous NFL-high of $141 million paid to Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Later in the day, Rodgers tweeted: “Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the @packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I “signed”. I’m very excited to be back.”
The Packers had to structure the deal so that it would significantly reduce Rodgers’ salary cap number of $46.14 million because they are $51 million over the $208.2 million salary cap when Adams’ $20.5 million cap number is added.
No matter what, Rodgers will carry a $19.17 million salary cap number this year from previous signing bonuses, so the Packers will only be able to reduce his current total so much. It’s possible they could get it down by $15-20 million by guaranteeing future salaries instead of paying him one large signing bonus.
But even if they can reduce Rodgers by $20 million and Adams by $15 million, they would still have $17 million to cut just to get under the cap. They will need far more salary-cap money than that to do business with their own pending free agents and so it’s likely they will start cutting veterans in order to gain more cap space.
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