Aaron Rodgers Next Contract Expected To Be The New Benchmark?

Update:

A league source with knowledge of the situation has informed Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the Packers intend to have Aaron Rodgers‘ contract extension taken care of in the near future.

“It is his time,” said the source.

Florio’s source added that he expects to see Rodgers’ next contract “set a new benchmark that will stand for several years.”

Joe Flacco currently holds that mark after signing a six-year deal worth $120.6 million and includes $52 million guaranteed. There was some speculation from earlier in the day that Matt Ryan could land a contract that comes close to $140 million and as much as $60 million in guarantees.

You could easily make the case that Rodgers deserves to be the highest paid player in the league, and I’m sure that the Packers are more than aware of this.

———–

Mike Freeman of CBS Sports reports that a source close to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers informed him that he’s “concerned about his contract situation,” but isn’t prepared to holdout in the event that an agreement isn’t reached at some point in the next few months.

“He paid close attention to the money Joe Flacco received,” said the source, “but there’s no anger. He’s not planning to hold out.”

Flacco just signed a $120.6 million extension with the Ravens that will average $20.1 million annually.

Rodgers’ next contract should at least match that total. The Packers are reportedly preparing to lock him up this offseason and could front-load the deal now, so that the cap hits are minimal in the coming years. In 2015, the league’s new television contract’s are supposed to kick in, which could add an additional $8-$10 million to the team’s salary cap, so I’m sure they would look to take advantage of this by structuring Rodgers’ contract to include a larger cap figure that year.

The good news for Green Bay is that Rodgers appears to be willing to work with them to some degree and not push the issue in the time being.