So now we know how much an MVP quarterback is worth in the NFL. Try $50 million a year, a rather pricey neighborhood.
That’s how much the Green Bay Packers gave free agent Aaron Rodgers, who had been advertising his unhappiness with the franchise until they came up with that fancy number.
Rodgers is 38 and entering his 18th season, all of them with the Packers. He has been complaining about this and that for the last couple of years, refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccination, annoyed with the Green Bay front office and generally being a general nuisance.
That said, the Packers drew up a four-year, $200 million deal that swept away all of his discontent. “YES, I will be playing with the Packers next year,’’ Rodgers announced in a tweet. “I’m very excited to be back.’’
Two hundred million dollars will do that.
This is a complete U-turn for Rodgers who boycotted the Packers mandatory minicamp a year ago when he was pouting. His displeasure with the team traced back to the 2020 NFL draft when Green Bay traded up four spots to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th pick.
Rodgers was outraged at that turn of events.
How dare his team draft a quarterback when they still had him? Well, the answer was that Green Bay was trying to protect itself against a breakdown by their aging signal caller.
What in the name of ageless Tom Brady made the Packers think that Rodgers might be slowing down? The answer is he wasn’t and two straight MVP awards – the third and fourth of his career—testified to that.
In between complaints demanding that he be consulted on the roster, Rodgers prospered again, and he did it without getting that annoying vaccine. What’s more, his bruised feelings seemed to heal and he publicly granted his approval to the front office’s personnel moves, complimenting general manager Brian Gutekunst on his roster construction.
That came after a stream of hints that he might take his shoulder pads and helmet elsewhere. He kept the team and its fans guessing until, with the start of the 2022 free agent period approaching, Rodgers agreed to stick around.
So everybody is smiling and happy these days in Green Bay. The only one who might be frowning just a bit is the Packers’ chief financial officer.
‘Two hundred million dollar contracts will do that to the accounting department