Packers: How Aaron Jones’ pay cut helps salary cap in 2023

The Green Bay Packers desperately needed to create cap space.

By reworking Aaron Jones’ deal, the Packers were able to do that and get to keep one of their best players in 2023.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that Jones and the Packers had reworked the contract. This creates additional cap space for Green Bay next season.

So, what impact has this made to the salary cap?

How Aaron Jones’ pay cut helps Packers’ salary cap in 2023

Jones’ cap hit was initially a little over $20 million in 2023. The Packers needed to find a way to bring that number down.

And they have.

According to Over The Cap, Jones’ 2023 cap hit is now just $8.2 million, which is a far more manageable number.

His cap hit will rise to $17.71 million in 2024, which is the final year of his contract. There are then three void years, where Green Bay will be left with dead cap hits.

That number is $6.64 million in 2025, $4.17 million in 2026, and $1.7 million in 2027.

But with the salary cap continuing to increase, those dead cap hits will be manageable for the Packers. In the meantime, they free up cap space in 2023 and keep their star player.

Per Over The Cap, Green Bay is still $4.67 million over the 2023 salary cap, so more moves are required, but this has made a significant difference.

More restructures, contract extensions, and releases should be expected in the coming weeks before the start of the new league year in March.

What’s next for Green Bay?

While the team continues to work to get under the salary cap, we all await Aaron Rodgers’ decision on his future. Returning to Green Bay and running it back in 2023 is a possibility, and Jones’ restructure may help towards that.

But we’ll see. Hopefully, Rodgers and the Packers will determine what’s next sooner rather than later.