“If he wants this money, he’s leaving” - Analyst believes quarterback Aaron Rodgers contract demands will lead to exit from Packers
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' newest demand may really open the door for his exit from the Green Bay Packers. Last night it was reported that Rodgers wants to the be the highest-paid quarterback in the league at $45 million a year.
The Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers wants to be the highest-paid QB around $45M anually, via @espn
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Nick Wright said on First Things First that if Rodgers wants this kind of money, he's leaving Green Bay.
“If he wants this money, he’s leaving. And I have two major takeaways. One is, I'm really surprised that Aaron Rodgers, at this point in his career, would be prioritizing an extra 10 or $12 million over an extra Super Bowl appearance. You know, to give yourself the best chance to get there. And my other takeaway is this and this is the one you I’d like your response to among everything else. I don't think Aaron Rodgers should be the highest paid quarterback in football."
"If Aaron Rodgers wants $50M/yr the Dolphins, Jets, Broncos & Colts can pretty easily do it. ... The Packers can't pay Rodgers $50M/yr. If he wants this money he's leaving. I don't think he should be the highest paid QB in football. I don't think he's earned that."—@getnickwright https://t.co/fIkS82lHqc
Wright then went on to say that he doesn't think Rodgers has earned the right to be the highest-paid quarterback in the league today. Wright claimed that it would be bad business for a team to make him the highest-paid player.
"I don't think he's earned that. I think he should be one of the highest-paid. But when I look around the league, I don’t, not after this last few playoff runs. I don't look at Aaron Rogers as the best quarterback in football, even if you remove the fact that he's damn near 40. So I think it's bad news for his Packers future. I think it's bad news for his chance to win another Super Bowl. And I think it'd be bad business to give him, to make Aaron Rodgers the faraway Highest-Paid player."
Matt Ryan is currently the highest-paid quarterback for this season
In 2018, Matt Ryan signed a 5-year $150 million deal with the Falcons, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at the time. Ryan is set to earn $48.6 million this season.
It is the largest cap hit by any player ever in NFL history. That's very concerning as the Falcons went 7-10 last season and 4-12 two seasons ago. Ryan has another year left on his contract next season, which carries a $43.6 million cap hit.
Rodgers is still better than Ryan, but neither deserves to be the highest-paid player in the league. Other guys many would consider more deserving would be young guys in their prime like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, etc.