Packers willing to make Aaron Rodgers highest-paid QB

If Aaron Rodgers returns to the Green Bay Packers for the 2022 season, he’ll likely be offered a new deal.

Last summer, it truly felt like a ‘Last Dance’ season in Green Bay with little chance Rodgers would be back in 2022. Well, there’s potentially more room for optimism now.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Packers are willing to make Rodgers the highest-paid quarterback in the league on a per-year basis. Rapoport wrote:

"“Assuming he stays, Rodgers will need a new deal for the 2022 season, and sources say the Packers are willing to offer him a deal that makes him the highest-paid QB in the NFL on a per-year basis — likely a two-year pact worth more than $45 million annually, with voidable years on the back end to make it work with the cap. That would also allow the team more flexibility to tag wide receiver Davante Adams, along with other offseason moves.”"

A new deal would give Rodgers some extra commitment from the Packers. It would show they want him to stay for the remainder of his career, no matter how long that proves to be. A new contract would also help the team sign and re-sign players this offseason as it could potentially significantly lower Rodgers’ 2022 cap hit.

Green Bay would then likely end up with dead cap in future years, so there is some risk to it, but the move would help GM Brian Gutekunst maintain a competitive roster for 2022, at least.

So, we’ll see.

The Packers have made it clear they want Rodgers to stay. Nothing has changed there.

Rodgers sure seems happier in Green Bay than a year ago. As Rapoport noted in the article, the fact Rodgers named both Packers president Mark Murphy and Gutekunst in his MVP speech perhaps says a lot. It sure didn’t sound like a speech from a player desperate to play elsewhere.

It’s now up to Rodgers. At this stage, he hasn’t even committed to playing in 2022. Maybe he’s had enough and wants to retire. That’s a decision only he knows the answer to, although we should find out soon. Rodgers said he wouldn’t wait too long to make a decision out of respect for the Packers and other players whose futures it could also impact.

If Rodgers does plan to play, the Packers want him back.