The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love have agreed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension, league sources said Friday. The deal also includes a record $75 million signing bonus and $155 million in new full guarantees, according to sources, making Love the highest-paid NFL quarterback.
Love’s new deal puts him in line with Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow, who each earn $55 million per year as the highest-paid quarterbacks on an annual basis. Those numbers are higher than quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1 million per year), Jared Goff ($53 million per year), Justin Herbert ($52.5 million per year) and Lamar Jackson ($52 million per year).
The deal also ends Love’s hold-in, as the quarterback decided to skip practice until he gets a new contract. Love reported to camp on time and will participate in other team activities outside of practice.
Love participated in all offseason activities even without a new contract, but the quarterback’s representation informed the Packers just before the start of training camp that he would not practice.
“I feel like we’re close,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the start of training camp.
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The 25-year-old Love would be entering the final year of his contract and is coming off a breakout first season in which he helped the Packers to a surprise appearance in the divisional round playoffs. He threw for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 regular season games.
He is now entering his second season as the Packers starter after four years behind current New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers and Love agreed to a one-year contract extension prior to last season, tying the quarterback to Green Bay only for the next year. That extension was worth a maximum of $22.5 million, including $13.5 million fully guaranteed.
Why Green Bay made this deal
The Packers shocked the NFL when they traded up in the 2020 first round to draft Love with four years remaining on Rodgers’ contract. Love waited behind Rodgers for three years and the long game paid off for him, Gutekunst and the organization who continued to have faith in their new franchise quarterback.
The Packers hope Love can follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Rodgers and give them three straight quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame, although Love has a lot more to accomplish to get there after a breakout first year in which he may was the best quarterback in the NFL. the second half of the regular season.
In his first three years in the NFL, Love started just one game, a Week 9 loss to the Chiefs in 2021 on short notice after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19. Love struggled under Kansas City’s relentless pressure as the Packers scored just once in a 13–7 loss, but Gutekunst was impressed with Love’s ability to persevere despite adversity. Besides three years of watching Love behind the scenes and in practice, the Packers felt confident enough to hand the reins of the offense to an unproven 24-year-old.
Their decision paid off and it looks like Green Bay has struck gold again in the form of a player who now ranks as the highest-paid player in NFL history. — Matt Schneidman, Packers staff writer
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(Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)