There's not a single team in the NFL that doesn't have at least one bad contract. And the Green Bay Packers obviously aren't immune.
Now, there are some who want you to believe that quarterback Jordan Love has the worst deal on the books. After all, he was given a four-year, $220 million extension after just one season as a starter.
But one has to remember that in that first season, Love did what neither Brett Favre nor Aaron Rodgers did in their first campaigns as QB1, and that's take the Packers to the playoffs, which he also did in Year 2.
Yes, Love is currently tied with Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Trevor Lawrence for the second-highest AAV in the league at $55 million, trailing only Dak Prescott's $60 million. However, with the way Green Bay structured the deal, his cap hits currently won't rank higher than 13th among all players until the final year of the contract in 2028, which is obviously a plus.
So, with Love not an option, and with Jaire Alexander now off the roster, the choice for the Packers' worst contract heading into the 2025 season seems painfully obvious, that being the four-year, $77 million deal belonging to new left guard Aaron Banks.
Aaron Banks has no business being the sixth-highest-paid player at his position
The Packers didn't make many moves in the early days of free agency, with Banks, a second-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, easily being their biggest acquisition.
Now, it's not as if the Notre Dame alum isn't a solid enough left guard, as there are undoubtedly far worse routes Green Bay could have gone here. And the 27-year-old is coming off the best year of his young career, surrendering just one sack for San Francisco a season ago and earning his highest overall PFF grade thus far at 65.4.
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That said, however, that 65.4 mark ranked only 50th among 136 eligible guards. He did place better as a run blocker, ranking 39th at 68.9, but his 60.5 pass-blocking grade ranked 77th.
Apparently, these are all the numbers you need to become the sixth-highest-paid guard in the NFL. Because in terms of his $19.25 million AAV, that's what Banks has become, trailing only Trey Smith (Chiefs, $23.402 million), Landon Dickerson (Eagles, $21 million), Chris Lindstrom (Falcons, $20.5 million), Quenton Nelson (Colts, $20 million), and Robert Hunt (Panthers, $20 million).
Banks did only receive $27 million in guaranteed money, all of which came as a signing bonus. And his cap hit for the upcoming season is only $9,032,353. But that number jumps significantly in 2026 to $24.85 million and remains fairly close to that figure over the final two years, dipping slightly in 2027 to $22.5 million in 2027 and $20.75 million in 2028.
Green Bay does have an out after the 2025 campaign, but cutting him will create $20.25 million in dead money.
Perhaps this gamble ends up paying off for the Packers. And make no mistake about it; that's exactly what this was, not only because of the cash involved but also because they already had an effective left guard in Elgton Jenkins, who's been moved over to center to replace the departed Josh Myers (Jenkins' situation is tricky in its own right).
For now, however, it seems as if the Packers have massively overpaid a good but not great player to protect their franchise quarterback.