Aaron Rodgers Wants A New Contract, And He Deserves It
Teams have already started landing big names in NFL free agency, with Pierre Garcon (49ers) and Brandon Marshall (Giants) already swapping teams just this morning. Although a couple of big-name pass catchers are out of the pool, several teams are still searching for that quarterback of the future, creating a wild market for guys that are unproven as starters in the NFL.
Take the case of Tampa backup Mike Glennon. Glennon is just 25 years old, but hasn't started an NFL game since 2014. He's gone 5-13 in 18 starts, completing 59.4% of his passes and compiling a rating of 84.6. Those are the numbers of a guy that is a very average quarterback, yet it is being reported that Glennon could garner upwards of $15 million this offseason.
Enter Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers is a better quarterback than Mike Glennon, and you'd hesitate to indulge in whatever illicit substance would lead a person to say otherwise. Still, Rodgers, the former Super Bowl champ, six-time Pro-Bowler, two-time 1st-team All-Pro, Super Bowl MVP, and two-time NFL MVP, is set to average just under $21 million over the next three years of his current deal. Is it time to restructure? Appearing on ESPN Wisconsin with Jason Wilde and Mark Tauscher, Rodgers said yes:
Considering that Kirk Cousins, thanks to consecutive franchise tags, will have made a two-year total of $42 million by the end of next season, Rodgers knows that the market is right, and that the Packers have to give him a new deal. The big question is, how far is Rodgers willing to go to capitalize on his value?
His current deal runs through 2019, meaning he'd have to hold out and force the hand of GM Ted Thompson. While it's tough to sympathize when a person with more money than God asks for more, we should all (Ted Thompson included) be in agreement that Aaron Rodgers has earned it.