Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers signed a $200 million extension. | Green Bay Packers/Facebook
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers signed a $200 million extension. | Green Bay Packers/Facebook
NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers' decision to re-sign with the Green Bay Packers is a development that may be felt by every one of the league’s 32 teams over the long haul.
Even before details of the $200 million extension Rodgers ultimately inked with the team began to leak to the public, ESPN.com reported the Packers were poised to offer the four-time league MVP a deal so big it would “alter the quarterback market."
As all the posturing played out, ESPN Senior NFL Reporter Jeremy Fowler said on Twitter, "Aaron Rodgers has massive long-term contract offer from Packers that will alter QB market. But Denver lurking in a big way."
ESPN reported that in the end, Rodgers signed off on a deal pegged to pay an average of $50 million per season, easily ushering him past Kansas Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes (10 years, $450 million) as the league’s highest-paid player based on average annual salary, according to CBS.com.
As massive as Rodgers' new deal is, Packers’ brass structured it in a way that it helps the team with cap-space flexibility for the upcoming season. Before the new deal, the 38-year-old signal-caller had one year remaining on a deal that would have counted $46.1 million against the cap this season.
Before inking his extension, Rodgers was rumored to be attracting interest from the likes of the Broncos, Titans, and Steelers.
Set to enter his 17th season, Rodgers, who has won back-to-back MVP honors, now holds the franchise record for career touchdown passes with 449.
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