Packers: What is Aaron Rodgers’ cap hit in 2023 season?

Right now, we don’t know whether Aaron Rodgers will play for the Green Bay Packers in 2023. Rodgers and the Packers will decide what’s next following the current season.

What we do already know is that Rodgers is on a huge contract, and that means a big salary cap hit next year.

Whether he keeps playing or not next season, Rodgers will likely have a big cap number for the Packers in 2023.

According to Over The Cap, Rodgers’ cap hit for next season is $31.62 million.

That’s OK, as it’s only slightly higher than this year’s cap hit of $28.53 million. If Rodgers is committed to playing in 2023 and the Packers want him back, his cap hit will be manageable.

There would be a big question over Jordan Love’s future, but that’s an entirely different conversation.

One thing we won’t see is Rodgers getting cut.

If Green Bay released the four-time MVP, the team would have to pay a dead cap hit of $99.78 million, per Over The Cap. That’s over three times higher than his current cap hit for 2023, so it would make no sense.

Rodgers’ dead cap hit would remain high even if he retired, although it would be far lower than if the Packers released him.

According to Spotrac, Rodgers would walk away from $59.5 million if he retires this offseason. That’s a significant amount of money, and it would have an impact on the salary cap. However, the Packers would still have to pay $40.3 million in dead cap.

In any situation, whether Rodgers stays in Green Bay, retires, or is traded, the Packers will have a big cap hit in 2023, and likely 2024, too.

They knew that when they gave Rodgers a contract extension in the offseason. They took the risk to push for another Super Bowl.

But with a playoff-less season looking likely, the decision may have been the wrong one.