Somehow, some way, the Green Bay Packers know how to pick, develop, and produce top quarterbacks.
From Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and now Jordan Love, the Packers have enjoyed an unprecedented run of elite quarterback play over the years culminating in two Super Bowl titles.
Love is next on that list. The Packers’ starting quarterback is coming off an excellent season in 2023 and is in line for a major payday. So much so that Green Bay’s front office is looking to get a deal done in the immediate future.
Jordan Love and Packers Negotiating Contract Extension
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made it clear Tuesday morning on 97.3 The Game that one of Green Bay’s biggest points of emphasis this offseason and into training camp will be to lock up Love on a long-term contract.
#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst gave @czabe and @Brian_Butch the latest on the Jordan Love contract situation this morning👇
"We're in those conversations right now. Both parties want the same thing. We'd like to get this done before training camp for sure." pic.twitter.com/fqZriW2zzG
— 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) June 4, 2024
“We’re in those conversations right now,” Gutekunst stated. “Both parties want the same thing. We’d like to get this done before training camp for sure.”
In the final year of his contract, Love’s salary cap charge for 2024 is $12.78 million, which is fairly modest for a franchise quarterback. Last offseason, the Packers signed him to a one-year contract extension instead of exercising his fifth-year option.
After Love’s breakout season in 2023, it’s only a matter of when until his salary for 2024 goes up considerably.
Revisiting Love’s 2023 Season
Love’s first full season as a starter was rare for any quarterback in league history. Despite missing the playoffs the previous season under Aaron Rodgers and trading away the four-time NFL MVP to New York, Green Bay gave the keys to the former first-round pick and watched him flourish.
In 17 starts last season, Love threw for close to 4,200 yards and 32 touchdown passes. It was in the second half of the season, though where the 25-year-old really started to excel.
In the final eight weeks of the season, Love led the league in touchdown passes (17) and first in passing yards (2,162). He also helped lead Green Bay to an upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by throwing for 272 yards, three TD passes, and a near-perfect QB rating of 157.2.
The following week, however, Love was picked off twice in Green Bay’s season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite the late turnovers, Love’s ascension to be among the best young quarterbacks in the game has him next in line for a lucrative contract extension with the Packers. Just how lucrative will depend on the market and how far Green Bay is willing to go for their young signal-caller.
Projecting Love’s Contract Extension
With any contract extension, projecting a young QB’s new deal is always complex. Teams are always looking to extend signal-callers, but they have to overpay for that reality.
As Pro Football Network’s own Dallas Robinson concludes, the Packers are in a situation that many teams would kill for.
“On one hand, the Packers seemingly hold tremendous leverage over their starting QB. Love will make a pittance in 2024, while Green Bay could control his contractual rights with franchise tags in 2025 and 2026. The Packers could theoretically hang onto Love for three more seasons without extending him.
“On the other hand, quarterbacks cost what quarterbacks cost. If an elite signal-caller is due for an extension, he usually becomes the NFL’s highest-paid player. Given how Love performed over the second half of the regular season and into the playoffs, there’s no reason he can’t top Burrow and reach $56+ million annually on his next contract.”
Love commanding a near $55 million extension with a single playoff win and winning season under his belt would be somewhat unprecedented, but it also would be the next logical name to receive a big contract.
Green Bay would have an added incentive to “beat” the Dallas Cowboys and Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott to their extension as well. The sooner the Packers agree to a long-term deal with Love, the better off the contract will be after the next wave of signal-callers get their contracts agreed upon.
Whenever it does happen, the Packers feel good enough to know they have the next great signal-caller in team history.