Notice: Trying to get property 'post_title' of non-object in /home/ofzfvenynm4q/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-rss-feed-to-post/includes/wprss-ftp-display.php on line 109
Following his trade to the Jets, quarterback Aaron Rodgers reworked his contract to make the deal go through.
On Wednesday, the 19-year veteran announced that he and the Jets have finally agreed to a restructured contract.
According to sources, Rodgers has signed a two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract through the 2024 season. NFL Network was the first to report details of Rodgers’ restructured contract.
Rodgers had almost $110 guaranteed remaining on the previous contract that he signed with the Packers. Sources also confirmed that Rodgers’ new contract is technically a five-year deal as it includes two option years to spread out a prorated bonus and create a cap number under $9 million. This will create more money for the Jets to spend during the next few seasons.
Rodgers saves the Jets around $35 million guaranteed as he is taking less money to try to win a Super Bowl or possibly two with the Jets. In April, Rodgers restructured a $58.3 million bonus to facilitate a trade to the Jets, pushing the money to 2024 as the money was fully guaranteed in the final year of his contract.
Because of that, Rodgers listed at the minimum salary of $1.2 million against the salary cap during the 2023 season. But the cap hit for 2024 of $107.6 million was not ideal.
It was never the plan for the Jets to absorb the entire $107.6 million cap hit as the new restructured contract could reflect Rodgers’ position to play multiple years for the franchise, which was a major question for the former four-time NFL MVP before the trade.
Recently, Rodgers has been on record of saying he plans on playing more than one season. During his last few seasons with the Packers, Rodgers, 39, flirted with retirement before committing to return. Now it seems Rodgers is having some of the most fun he has had playing football in years.
Rodgers has been smiling, joking with his teammates during practices, and even helping them in between plays. He has also enjoyed himself off the field.
Last week, cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner gave Rodgers a No. 8 chain to welcome him to the Jets. Then during the offseason, Rodgers has been seen at various events, from the Knicks to the Rangers and even dancing at Taylor Swift concerts.
“Some of it is how much fun I’m having,” Rodgers said about wanting to play more than one season for the Jets. “It’s all about the body, how the body feels. The team gave up significant pieces for it to be just a one-year deal.
“I’m aware of that and the awareness of that. Now, anything can happen with my body or the success that we have this year, but I really don’t see this as a one-year-and-done thing. Being at 40 was a goal because that’s a big number because to put yourself in that position means you
have to take care of yourself during the offseason, so I adjusted some things with that goal in mind.
“Tom [Brady] set the standard at playing until 45, which is crazy. It’s less crazy when you start to get closer to that because you still love the game and you still want to be there doing it. If you take care of yourself the right way, you put yourself into a position to at least entertain that thought.”
The Jets’ offense has been up and down during the six days of training camp. But to be fair, the team is without a few significant contributors right now as left tackle Duane Brown (shoulder), wide receiver Allen Lazard, and running back Breece Hall (ACL) have all missed practice time
Many issues stem from the Jets’ offensive line, as Billy Turner and Max Mitchell have been playing both tackle spots. This has led to the Jets’ defensive line creating havoc in both passing and running situations.
[ Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers being patient with teammates at the start of training camp ]
“I thought we have five practices where we improved,” Rodgers said. “Today was kind of a step back a little bit. Felt a little bit tired as a whole.
“Mentally, made a lot of mistakes, but we gotta clean some stuff up, but that’s part of training camp. But I felt like we were building. First day of pads was pretty solid running the football and today wasn’t the same type of focus.”
