Jordan Love contract: Projecting Packers QB’s next deal.
News Flash: Jordan Love contract! Projecting Packers QB’s next bargain.
Jordan Love contract: Projecting Packers QB’s next deal after breakout 2023 season.
Jordan had to wait four seasons through his initial rookie first-round contract to become the Packers’ full-time starting quarterback. Although Love is now signed through 2024, Green Bay will need to soon pay its young QB a lot more after he broke out in 2023.
Love led the Packers to a 9-8 record, a wild-card berth, and a surprise first-round playoff victory. He posted 32 TD passes, second in the league, and threw for 4,129 yards with a strong 96.1 passer rating while averaging 7.2 yards per pass attempt. Love also rushed for 247 yards and four more TDs.
There’s no doubt Love exceeded immediate expectations in replacing Aaron Rodgers, getting better as the season progressed. Love’s performance was an upgrade overall with production and winning results.
The Packers look like they have hit on a franchise QB again with Love succeeding Rodgers, who succeeded Brett Favre. That also means they will need to compensate Love like one soon. Here’s projecting how much of a raise in salary and years Love can expect in the near future:
Jordan Love contract history
Love, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, was slotted for a four-year, fully guaranteed, $12.383 million deal, with a signing bonus of more than $6.5 million. That had him under contract through the 2023 season.
Once Rodgers was traded to the Jets and Love became the starter in ’23, the Packers eschewed picking up his fifth-year option valued at $20.27 million and instead reworked his deal into a $22.4-million extension through ’24.
Love was given $13.5 million guaranteed this past season with a $8.788 million signing bonus. He also earned half his salary escalators for an additional $4.5 million.
Jordan Love career earnings.
When combining the four-year rookie deal and the two-year extension, Love is at $19.883 million for his career, per Spotrac. He is set to make $10.5 million in base salary in ’24 before bonuses push that up to $12.757 million.
Jordan Love contract projection.
Love was in the top 10 in TD passes, passing yards, passer rating, and yards per attempt among full-time starters. That should push him from a relative bargain to a top-10 QB salary soon, despite his inexperience. Setting the top of the QB market in average annual salary are two fellow 2020 first-rounders, Joe Burrow ($55 million) and Justin Herbert ($52.5 million). They both got five-year deals last offseason, matching the duration of mega deals for Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson.
When looking at free agency and trades in the ’23 offseason, both Derek Carr with the Saints and Rodgers for the Jets ended up getting $37.5 million per season on new teams. Right above them are the three $40 million per season men — Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, and Matthew Stafford, who all got four-year deals from their teams.
The sweet spot for Love would be around $45 million per season. At 25, he’s younger than Prescott, Jones, Stafford, Carr, and Rodgers. However, Love is more unproven than those young veterans in their primes who getting paid the most at the position.
Although five years has been the somewhat standard of late, it might behoove Love to go for four years at around $180 million, with more than $100 million guaranteed. Should he keep playing well in 2024, he will be on track to reach his prime years when he turns 30 in 2028. That would allow Love to reset his deal near the new top of the market as an established long-term starter should his improved play with experience merit that.