Green Bay Packers Sign Quarterback Jordan Love to Record-Breaking Extension

The Green Bay Packers have made their franchise quarterback the league's highest-paid player. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Packers have agreed to terms with Jordan Love on a record-breaking four-year, $220 million contract.

Jordan Love and the Packers have agreed to a 4 year $220M contract, that makes him the highest paid QB in NFL history. He also gets a record $75M Signing Bonus plus $155M in new full gurantees. Deal negotiated by David Mulugheta & Andrew Kessler of Athletes First. pic.twitter.com/dKDtzUrakX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2024

The $55 million per year average on the deal ties Love with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the highest in the league. The extension also brings with it $155 million in new guarantees, including a $75 million signing bonus, the largest in NFL history.

The Packers took Love 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft with an eye to the future, hoping he could eventually replace incumbent quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It took until 2023 for Love to open a season as the starter, but he delivered: Love led the Packers to the Divisional Round of the playoffs while throwing for 4159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in the regular season.

The Packers ought to be thrilled with Love. Even without drastic tweaks to their roster, they were a markedly better offense under Love than in Rodgers' last season with the team, improving in points scored (370 to 383), yards gained (5745 to 5873), and giveaways (22 to 18).

That all being said, Love is just about as inexperienced as a player could be heading into a major extension. With only 18 starts to his name, Love has certainly demonstrated promise, but it's impossible to know at this point how much he can still improve. His 2023 season was a pleasant surprise, but he'll need to be even better if the Packers are going to become a perennial contender.

For the Packers, the real work starts now. By making Love the league's highest-paid player, the Packers are entering an era of diminished cap flexibility, and that will complicate their roster building. A 9-8 regular season finish was exciting in 2023, but it will be disappointing in 2024 and downright frustrating in 2025. Love progressing will only do so much; the Packers will need to improve the playmakers around him. With Love making $55 million per year, that won't be easy.