Aaron Rodgers apparently cares about being the highest-paid player in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers apparently are being forced to care about that too.
The Packers, specifically GM Brian Gutekunst, were talking about wanting to sign Rodgers to an extension before both free agents Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins signed their new deals. Had that happened, the Packers likely would have saved a little money, as those contracts will reset the market in terms of annual — and in the case of Cousins — overall value.
But Rodgers isn’t having that. He is not going to give the Packers any sort of discount or take less money in order to allow the team to sign more players.
He’s waiting it out.
Update on the #Packers Aaron Rodgers contract extension. I heard it was extremely close. But a trusted source told me the two sides are simply talking and that Rodgers' extension is unlikely to be done until after the Kirk Cousins deal comes in. Which makes a lot of sense.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 3, 2018
The good news is the deal is essentially imminent. As soon as Cousins signs, then Rodgers and the Packers will top that deal and game over.
The bad news, if you want to look at that way, is Rodgers is doing the Packers no favors. Hell, he’s probably not doing some of his teammates, maybe even some of his close friends (Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb?) any favors.
Yes, Rodgers deserves to be the highest-paid player in the game. That reduces the Packers’ financial flexibility, however. It reduces their ability to surround Rodgers with big-time players, i.e. veteran free agents. It reduces their ability to keep players with untenable contracts, such as Cobb and Nelson.
But every team overcommits to certain positions. Look at Seattle. They invested heavily in that defense for so many years that they couldn’t pay any offensive linemen. Because of that, their offensive line has recently been one of the worst in football.
Every team has to make these decisions of which positions to put their money in. You have to get lucky and have cheap draft picks that perform well throughout the roster. It’s what the NFL has become.
Should be an interesting offseason.
I don’t blame him one bit, even if he wanted to leave. If Rodgers has been impeded in a return to the Super Bowl by McCarthy and company being inept he may as well get paid. Let’s see what McCarthy makes, I guarantee he’s overpaid for his “contribution” to the Packers being successful. Yeah I know McCarthy’s salary has no impact on salary cap implications. Still. Championships PLURAL my ass.
Forgot to add, with the Packer cap situation what it already is, they were doing a fine job BEFORE having to pay Rodgers of decreasing their available cap dollars. I’m sure it is Rodgers’ fault they overpaid for Nick Perry and Randy Cobb, etc. I mean those guys were paid as big time players right? They weren’t doing Rodgers any favors by keeping up their charade.
Yes Sir……
Matter of fact, Cobb insisted on #1 receiver money because he put up #1 numbers in 2014, so they gave it to him. Nick Perry cashed in big, i guess on the generosity of Ball and big Ted for 11 sacks. 11 sacks may be better than average, but it’s hardly elite. Hell, Peppers had 11 sacks last season, for 3.5 million, and he’s old.
What do Cobb and Perry have in common? They both had one good year in their careers.
This is where wrongs need to be righted. You need a strong General Manager for that job. I haven’t seen it yet. So Rodgers should take less money, or these players need to face the reality of their true worth, and take a pay cut?
This is why….if anyone (in person) tells you Rodgers should take less money. slap them upside their head, not hard enough to knock them out, but hard enough to send them on their ass.
So Jimmy Garrapolo and Kirk Cousins will be the two highest paid players in football soon. Makes total sense. I wish Rodgers would get it through his thick head that he’s not better than them.
Meh, Garappolos contract really isn’t that crazy if you look at the details. It is essentially a two year deal. Most of the guarantees are in year one. They can cut him after two with minimal consequences.
It’s somewhat crazy. Yea, it’s kind of a 2 year deal, for a guy with something like 7 starts under his belt. If he plays through those 2 years and there is no reason he wont. He will have pocketed 62.1 million. For someone with 7 starts, that’s some pretty strong coin.
A side note: having a strong team on a given year depends on the three or four previous drafts. If you have a lot of talented guys on their rookie deals, that buys you a nice SB window (window, not certainty, nothing is certain in the NFL). When those guys become free agents, there is no way a team can retain them and a dream team disperses. And no team has outstanding drafts year in year out. That happened to the Legion of Boom (plus Russell Wilson). They started losing guys left and right, replacing them with capable, but non-stellar guys. Seattle went from SB-bound team to strong contender, to contender, to borderline-playoff team. NE is a special case. They hire unspectacular veterans, who are experienced and don’t typically make rookie mistakes and play mostly unspectacularly otherwise. But they somehow maximize the output from that talent and are able to scheme for that. Prior drafting is what most largely dictates the success or failure of a team at a given time. Then, that has to be complemented with a few tweaks via FA, but it cannot reshape an entire team.
Back to highly priced guys: you can have so many of these, not enough to carry a team. It would help if Rodgers left a few pennies to find an extra FA. That, though, does not turn a pretender into a contender. However, we believe we are one or two players away from the championship, don’t we? Some here argue that Rodgers should just cash in (likely playing out the rest of his career without sniffing a ring again). Some say that he should give the team a discount to let them get more FAs (that still does not ensure that he will sniff a ring again). Both sides have some truth to it, (yes my dearest PF4L, life is not 0% or 100, 0 or 1, black or white). So, I don’t truly know. There are too many unknowns of more relevant influence right now than Rodgers contractual situation. We don’t know what this team has. Will the defense resurrect under Pettine? Will some players reach their potential with him? Will the offense become creative and unpredictable again with the former OC back? Will our WR corps somehow become a strength again? This team could range anywhere from out-of-the-playoffs to contender, depending on too many factors.
Actually….Seattle wasn’t just a Super Bowl bound team, they won a Super Bowl in 2013. Then reached the Super Bowl the following year, only to lose it in the closing seconds. Which, in my opinion, deteriorated the chemistry and unity of that team.
But, they had Wilson on a cheap rookie contract, some defensive play makers on cheap rookie deals. Everyone knew those guys were gonna get paid and the cap would become an issue. But they drafted very well, and they have something to show for it.
You are correct about drafting players, you can’t have an outstanding draft every year. I also agree drafting well determines success, especially….on a draft and develop team. Look at our past drafts, like for 2011-13. From those drafts (players outside their cheap rookie deal) we have kept a grand total of 4 players. On a draft and develop team mind you. Where 3 of those players are seriously overpaid IMO.
That my friend, is not drafting for success. You don’t need outstanding drafts every year, But if you keep drafting like that, you will find your team outside looking in, no matter how good your QB is.
I used to say we are 1 or 2 players away (some years ago). But every year that number seems to grow doesn’t it? I’m not going to go down the line and list our needs again. Lets just say it’s more than two, and less than 12.
Rodgers should do whatever he wants to do, whether that’s take less than has peers, cash in, request a trade. But personally, why should he take less than his peers? Because of personnel and money mismanagement of years past that had nothing to do with him?
Call it what you’d like…..I call it black and white, it’s hardly a mystery.
I’m not buying any of this just yet. Until Rodgers camp says it, that means this is coming from Murphy and the Packers. And if it’s coming from them, you can rest assured it’s a bunch of bullshit. They are trying to pressure him to the table and I’m not sold that’s at the table he wants to be.
Since no writer seems interested, anyone been watching the combine at all? I really liked the Penn St tight end, the problem is I can see him going at the bottom of round 1. Big and fast, had a 41″ vertical. Sounds like his blocking is suspect, but it isn’t as if he isn’t a strong guy, he had a good showing on bench press. As far as a sleeper that people weren’t really talking about, I was impressed with Trey Quinn. His measurables are pretty average, 4.55 40, average athleticism in jumps, but he really popped put at me during drills. Caught the ball well with his hands, very polished route runner, sort of reminded me of Greg Jennings in that aspect.
I watched some of it, watched the college highlights of a dude with only one hand, and watched him do 20 reps on the bench.
So yea, i got my 2 minutes of viewing pleasure in.
That same guy ran the 40 in 4.38
I could see the Queens overpaying for Cousins just so the Packers would be forced to pay more for Rodgers.
While fucking themselves down the line when they have to pay people? I don’t think so.
No, he does not deserve to be the highest paid player in the NFL. You can look at the other article to see that Rodgers is really no longer even a Top 5 QB and also that his play is actually declining.
Anyone can debate winningly which one is the bigger selfish arrogant jerk, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but Brady has certainly outperformed Rodgers and won a lot more Super Bowls. It is very obvious to anyone other than this writer that Brady would DESERVE more money than Rodgers.
I think that it is interesting that Cousins over the last 3 years has outplayed Rodgers, will get a huge contract he deserves, and then Rodgers’ will be bigger than his. I’d certainly take Cousins over Rodgers even without considering he is 5 years younger and healthier. What he did last year was amazing — 100% turnover of starting WRs, run of the mill non-start level WRs and still over 4000 yards and a high passer rating.
LOL. You are a fucking retard
Careful, don’t flash all your intellectual acumen all at once. Leave a little mystery. Or say nothing and leave a lot.
I wish I could say your arguments and observations were compelling or intriguing but… there were none.
Intellectually you are a legless man attempting to stand.
Dude, there aren’t words for your drivel. Pure retardation. I don’t even know how to respond your statement is so flawed and baseless
Your words are flopping around on the floor.
According to a recent survey of one hundred, 16 year-old girls with double-digit IQ’s, when asked, “Who’s the better NFL QB, Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins?”, ninety nine responded, ‘Aaron Rodgers’. The lone support for Cousins came from a homely, fat chick with back boobs from Minnesota, who confirmed she had no knowledge of the game of football.
I take some comfort that the line “homely, fat chick with back boobs” means that at least you agree with me.
No easy dodges on this one, fat girl. Own your shit.
Yeah, Sam Bradford was better too at the time the Vikings traded for him according to you. Completion percentage is everything. No refund on those draft picks those fools traded for him. Now it’s Cousins. What about Keenum? He was everything until he wasn’t…I’m sure you’d take him over Rodgers too. I live in Redskins country, their entire fan base wants him gone and they could have signed him for 50% of what the Vikings will be willing to pay. Once Denver signs him, you’ll say he’s dogshit.
If Sam had no knee issues it would be great to have him back. Sam was better than what we had at the time we traded for him. He did establish a league record for completion percentage however I’ve never said completion percentage is “everything”. It was a good trade because it gave us a chance to compete instead of giving up on a couple seasons.
The #1 we traded for him would have ended up being spent on a rookie QB we’d still be waiting to develop which would have washed away at least a couple more seasons. No Case Keenum and no bid (possibly) for Kirk Cousins. So the trade actually worked out despite the injury. We got 16 very good games out of him, Case Keenum, and salary cap space for Kirk Cousins. Good deal. #1 picks are valuable but only about a third work out to that value. Look at the Packers= When was the last time a #1 pick worked out how you wished, wanted, expected? Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. None since. That’s over a decade right? You can make an argument for Bulaga too I guess. That gets you a bit closer to the 1 in 3 scale. But still not even there.
I do also like Case Keenum. I’d have no issue resigning him at all. I’d embrace it. Case at 20 million per year + a 10 million free agent or Cousins at 30 million per year? Honestly the former is a little better than the latter though both are good. And, again, I’ve never said Case is “everything”. You certainly have an active internal fantasy life. Enjoy those dragons and elves but try to keep it to yourself.
Your false statements continued in your last few lines. You may well live in Redskins country but the entire fan base does not want Cousins gone. They’ll be worse without him I can guarantee. Also, the fans knew he was leaving no matter what they wanted due to mismanagement of his situation and failure to appreciate what they had. No, they could not have signed him for 50% either. May of 2017 he turned down a 5 year contract offer by the Redskins. They TRIED to get him for two thirds of what his next contract will be but he was too smart for that. Trying and failing are very different from “could have signed him”.
I’ve respected and valued Cousins for years. He has incredible enthusiasm and a legendary work ethic. This admiration began long before his ending up with the Vikings (possibly) was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye. It will continue if he becomes a Jet as well. Latest, sounds like it is going to be down to the Jets and Vikings. Broncos and Cardinals cannot compete with the Jets money and cannot compete with the Vikings winning situation/roster and excellent coaching.
Cousins is younger than Rodgers by 5 years and does not have his personality dysfunctions. His play on the field the past three years has exceeded Rodgers as well and he does not have the injury issues that Rodgers has.
I really hope he does sign with the Vikings. I’d like to see what he can do with a good o-line, great wide receivers, and a great running back. But I won’t be disappointed with Keenum or Bradford if Sam can stay healthy.
I don’t see Rodgers getting better but Cousins certainly could with more experience, better coaching, and a better surrounding cast. His needle points upward… and he is already better than Rodgers! In 5 years Cousins will be nearly as old as Rodgers is now and Rodgers will be out of football. If injury history repeats (a big if) the Vikings, for less money, in the next three years will get 48 regular season games out of Cousins and the Packers will get 37 games out of Rodgers.
The future is bright!
^^^ This guy takes forever, to say nothing.
As soon as he wrote good trade…I stopped reading. Can’t believe I got that far.
As long as they sign Janis so we can still have glory hole sessions who cares if they have Rodgers