NFL insider lays out the exact moment when Packers will go into rebuild mode
The Green Bay Packers were able to retain Aaron Rodgers after seemingly messing up the situation in 2020 by drafting Jordan Love. Rodgers went on to win consecutive MVP awards, so the team had no choice but to retain him.
That means a brand new three-year, $150 million extension that includes additional years, in the end, to spread out the money. Reports have indicated some shocking things about the deal as well.
Packers insider Tom Silverstein shared some of these surprising facts.
Silverstein wrote on Twitter:
"One source said the dead money cap hit for the end of Aaron Rodgers' contract as it stands now is around $75M. That's when the #Packers go into rebuild mode."
One source said the dead money cap hit for the end of Aaron Rodgers’ contract as it stands now is around $75M. That’s when the #Packers go into rebuild mode.
It is being reported that the team could face a $75 million dead cap hit at the end of the deal. That is a whopping total and means that is when the team will be forced to go into a rebuild. Otherwise, they stand no chance of being under the cap.
Green Bay Packers taking advantage of salary cap rules
The NFL salary cap jumped over $200 million for the first time in 2022. Conventional thinking points to that number going up with every passing year. So it appears the organization is hoping that a $75 million dead cap value won't be as bad in three or four years as it would be now.
Yet the total, as Silverstein points out, will still force a rebuild. There is no way to make money disappear when restructuring contracts in the NFL. Teams simply move it to the future in a continual process. But if the salary cap goes up by around $10 million per year, the dead cap money is not as extreme as it seems in the present.
Typically, the longer a NFL player plays on their contract the cheaper the dead cap would be if they retire.
This is not the case with Aaron Rodgers' new deal - every year he plays makes his walking away more expensive.
Retired Dead Cap:
2023: $40.3M
2024: $68.2M
2025: $76.8M
The team drafted Rodgers' replacement in Love. They then realized the move was done prematurely and made a total change in philosophy to make him the highest-paid player in the NFL.
This may tank the team's chances of success for a few seasons, starting in about three or four years. That also shows a shift from constantly trying to plan for the future to focus on winning in the present.
Green Bay is all in on Rodgers and is hoping that the future financial pain is compensated with a Super Bowl in the next few years.