Packers Hope To Have Extension In Place For Aaron Rodgers Soon

Packers president Mark Murphy tells WTMJ.com that they hope to have an extension in place for QB Aaron Rodgers at some point in the near future.

“We hope to soon have a contract extension,” Murphy said.

There haven’t been a lot of updates regarding a new deal for Rodgers over the past month.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media previously reported that Rodgers would like to have a series of player options included in his next contract so that he can have some control over his salary. With this in mind, Rapoport says it’s unlikely Rodgers and the Packers will agree on a traditional extension like his last deal.

This fits with what Mike Garafolo reported, which is that Rodgers will be looking to have more control over his own future in the coming years. According to Garafolo, Rodgers would like to have some kind of out in an extension later on, as opposed to signing another five-year extension, which would leave him under team control for the next seven years.

Traditional extensions like the five-year deal Rodgers previously signed with Green Bay locked him into a deal where he doesn’t have a lot of say in the final few years, even though he’s being paid less than market value.

The overall expectation has been that a deal between the Packers and Rodgers should get done this summer, possibly before the start of training camp, but there’s no question that his next contract will be interesting to analyze in terms of the structure and guaranteed money included in the agreement.

Murphy said previously during an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio that he’s “very hopeful” they’ll be able to get a long-term extension in place with Rodgers that will compensate him at a level and still allow them to compete for titles.

“I’m very hopeful,” Murphy said. “I don’t think there’s anything really to wait for now. All the (NFL’s other major quarterback) contracts have been done. I’m very optimistic that Russ Ball, our vice president who handles all of our negotiations, that he and David Dunn, Aaron’s agent, can figure out a way to get this done in a way where Aaron is compensated to the level he should be, yet we still can compete for Super Bowl championships.

“And, really, we both want that. Obviously, Aaron wants to be compensated well, but he’s also extremely driven to win championships and you like to see that in your players.”

Last year, Rodgers suffered a displaced collarbone fracture that required two plates and 13 screws inserted to help solidify the fracture and accelerate the healing process. He managed to return in Week 16, but the Packers lost to the Panthers were officially eliminated from the playoffs soon after.

Rodgers, 34, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He’s entering in the sixth year of his seven-year, $130.75 million contract that included $54 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $19.8 million and $20 million over the final two years of the agreement.

In 2017, Rodgers appeared in seven games for the Packers and thrown for 1,675 yards while completing 64.7 percent of his passes to go along with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 126 yards. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 11 quarterback out of 39 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a new deal for Rodgers as the news is available.