Aaron Rodgers Addresses Pay-Cut Decision, Jets Future

Aaron Rodgers has gone from being “90% retired” to regularly talking about playing multiple seasons with the Jets. The Packers and Jets briefly discussed a trade term of a 2025 Green Bay pick going to New York in the event Rodgers retired after the 2023 season, but no traction emerged in that direction. As of now, at least, it does not sound like that will end up being relevant.

The 19th-year quarterback said he is expecting this to be a “few-years partnership,” via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. The future Hall of Famer’s thinking has moved considerably from a retirement lean before the winter darkness retreat. After keeping the Packers in suspense about his plans in recent offseasons, Rodgers is hoping to extend his career into at least 2024.

In his first press conference with the Jets, Rodgers stopped short of saying he would play beyond this season. Now, he is back to a place where he would like to play well into his 40s. Rodgers, 39, had previously said this was a goal. But during his final few years with the Packers, that talk fizzled. In September 2022, Rodgers made a point of saying he will not follow Tom Brady‘s lead by playing until age 45. But that still leaves some wiggle room for the four-time MVP.

“I want play a few more years and it’ll be five after that,” Rodgers said, alluding to the Hall of Fame’s waiting period. “Who knows what’s going to happen in eight or nine years? That’s a long way off.” Rodgers also said, “I’m taking it one year at a time. Yeah, I’d love to play as long as I can, as long as it’s fun, as long as my body feels good, as long as they want me.”

The long-QB-starved Jets sent the Packers a 2023 second-round pick and swapped first-rounders this year. If Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ snaps this season, the Packers will receive Gang Green’s 2024 first. Previously citing the assets the Jets gave up in his reasoning for now eyeing multiple seasons in New York, Rodgers has since agreed to trim roughly $35MM in guarantees on the contract he agreed to in 2022.

Coming after Quinnen Williams‘ extension freed up cap space for the Jets, Rodgers’ surprising decision leaves the team with $15.9MM — 11th as of August 1. Rodgers’ pay cut has helped the Jets stay in the lead for Dalvin Cook, who visited the team Sunday.

“I thought it was important they knew how committed I was. And in my conversations with Joe [Douglas], he has made it very clear the vision for the football team,” Rodgers said, via NBC Sports’ Peter King. “You probably agree with this. This year, compared to like 2005, the amount of transactions that happen now with guys getting cut and the amount of trades — way more than before. Big names move at the trade deadline now. I wanted to make sure that if somebody valuable came available that we’d be able to get him. I’m very happy with the contract. I feel great about it.”

Rodgers’ April Packers restructure left a whopping and untenable $107MM cap hit on the Jets’ 2024 payroll. That number is now down to $17.16MM; Rodgers counts for just $8.89MM on New York’s 2023 cap sheet. The Jets used the increasingly popular void-years tactic in this restructure. Four void years are in the contract, with those coming after a $35MM roster bonus due in 2025. The guarantees cover Rodgers through 2024. A $63MM dead-money penalty sits on the Jets’ payroll in 2026; that number is $28MM north of the dead-cap hit the Buccaneers are currently navigating after Brady’s retirement.

While this might not be the final Jets-Rodgers transaction, the high-profile trade acquisition is squared away for now. The two-year, $75MM arrangement came about quickly, via ESPN’s Dianna Russini, though it remains interesting Rodgers was willing to move down to a $37.5MM-per-year number so soon after becoming the first NFLer to clear the $50MM-AAV bar. Rodgers has already earned more than $305MM as a pro.

“I feel great about what I’m making,” he said, via Cimini. “It wasn’t really a negotiation, like back and forth, me starting at 50 and them starting at 20 and meeting somewhere. It was an easy conversation, much of it between me and Joe, just talking about the state of the team and the opportunities that could be out there — that are out there now, that could be out there.”