Packers Projected to Offer Breakout QB $150 Million Deal Next Year.

Love has thrown for north of 3,850 yards and 30 TDs with one regular-season game remaining — a win-and-in home contest against the Chicago Bears to carry the Packers back to the playoffs in the quarterback’s first year as the full-time starter.

Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac projected on December 27 that the Packers will consider a $150 million extension for Love based on his play, though the current structure of the QB’s contract will allow Green Bay to gather an extra season worth of information in 2024 before committing to Love long-term.

Jordan Love should finish off his first full season as a starter somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of overall production [and] efficiency. There have been a few moments of good wow and a few moments of bad wow along the way, setting up an interesting decision for Green Bay this offseason.

Have they seen enough to really put a stamp on this situation, extending the 25-year-old out a few years to secure him, or will they roll the dice on an expiring contract in 2024 (currently projected to carry a $9M cap/cash hit)?

[Prediction]: The Packers keep Love on his current contract, hoping for a little more clarity before they pull the trigger on $150M+ guaranteed.

Love and the Packers found themselves in an interesting contract situation heading into 2023, after the team traded 15-year starter Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets ahead of the NFL draft.

This was the final season of Love’s initial four-year rookie deal valued at $12.38 million in total. However, the QB had appeared in only 10 career games and recorded just one start during his first three years as a professional. As a first-round pick back in 2020, Green Bay was in position to exercise a fifth-year team option on Love’s contract through the 2024 campaign.

However, that option totaled over $20 million, which Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst negotiated down with Love and his representation. Instead, the team and QB agreed to a one-year $22.5 million deal for 2024, though the Packers fully guaranteed only $13.5 million of that total.

Green Bay’s renegotiation has proven a steal considering Love’s production as a 24/25-year-old during his first season as the starter. Love has also successfully navigated the pressure of replacing a four-time MVP in Rodgers while surrounded by the youngest offense in the NFL.

If Green Bay gets to the postseason and makes noise throughout the month of January, the Packers may decide they’ve seen enough to lock Love up for years to come. Right now, however, it makes sense for the team to let Love play a bit in 2024 before offering him an extension.

There is a risk of losing Love in free agency following next season, as Ginnitti mentioned, though the Packers can negate that risk entirely by utilizing the franchise tag to keep the QB under contract through 2025 if necessary.

Ginnitti’s projection of $150 million for Love following the 2024 campaign is just the latest parallel between the Packers’ new starter and Rodgers, the latter of whom also waited for three years behind a Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre before getting his shot as a full-time starter.

Rodgers — a former first-round pick in the mid-20s, the same as Love was — signed a three-year, $151 million extension with the Packers in March 2022 before landing with the Jets via trade the following season.