PWT36
Cheesehead
"GM, coach say Aaron Rodgers is the Green Bay Packers' quarterback of the future. But with only two years left on his deal and no extension in sight, Rodgers may be...Playing for a payday."
From the Sports page of Sunday, May 18, 2008 Green Bay Press-Gazette by PG Sports reporter Rob Demovsky.
"By now, everyone has heard Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson say it repeatedly.
“Aaron (Rodgers) is the guy,” Thompson, the Green Bay Packers’ general manager, said most recently during last month’s draft.
“He is our quarterback,” McCarthy, the Packers’ coach, also said during the draft. “That is his focus.”
In the NFL, however, there’s one thing that speaks louder than words — money. The sure-fire way to tell how the Packers’ top two football men feel about Rodgers will be what happens with his contract between now and the end of the 2009 season.
It appears Rodgers will enter his first season as a starting quarterback on essentially a two-year tryout. Not only is he in the unenviable position of replacing a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre, but he will do so with only two years left on the five-year contract he signed in 2005 after the Packers made him the 24th overall pick in the draft.
Neither Rodgers’ agent, Mike Sullivan, nor Thompson would comment specifically this week on Rodgers’ contract situation, but there’s no indication the Packers plan to do anything in the near future to extend Rodgers’ deal.
Why would they? He remains an unproven commodity. If he struggles over the next two seasons, they can look elsewhere without having to make another investment in Rodgers.
Still, Thompson admitted it’s an unusual situation — one he can’t recall being in with a quarterback during his 17 years as an NFL personnel man.
In Thompson’s three-plus-year history as the Packers’ GM, he has been proactive about extending the contracts of valuable players before they reach the final year of their deals. But with Rodgers, there’s not enough NFL playing history to warrant action.
“I’m never very specific about that, but whenever we think it’s appropriate,” Thompson said when asked when he might consider an extension for Rodgers. “Everybody’s kind of got these checklists, but we don’t put the cart before the horse.”
If Rodgers performs well early, the Packers might be inclined to begin contract talks with Sullivan. But any such move would involve a greater risk than usual because there would be such a small body of work from which to judge Rodgers.
If Rodgers plays well this season and holds to form into 2009 and doesn’t sign an extension, it would be tough to imagine the Packers letting him get to free agency. It’s almost unheard of that a team would let an established starting quarterback hit the open market.
“I wouldn’t speculate on something like that,” Thompson said. “That’s between us and Aaron.”
From Rodgers’ perspective, he has missed out on some serious money while sitting behind Favre the last three seasons and might be open to an extension sooner rather than later. If Favre had retired after the 2005 season and Rodgers had been the full-time starter from 2006 through 2009, he would have added $8.25 million in salary escalators from 2007 to 2009. If Favre had retired after the 2006 season and Rodgers had been the full-time starter from 2007 to 2009, he would have added $5.25 million.
Now, Rodgers can add only $2.2 million if he’s the starter this season and in 2009. Sullivan confirmed this week that none of the escalator money will kick in until 2009, meaning his 2008 salary will remain at $680,000.
That’s among the lowest 2008 base salaries of NFL starting quarterbacks. Only seven projected 2008 starters will make less than Rodgers this season. Only one projected NFC starting quarterback, Minnesota’s Tarvaris Jackson ($445,000), is scheduled to make less than Rodgers. The projected AFC starters who will make less than Rodgers are Denver’s Jay Cutler ($647,500), Kansas City’s Brodie Croyle ($445,000), the New York Jets’ Kellen Clemens ($445,000), Buffalo’s Trent Edwards ($370,000), Miami’s John Beck ($370,000) and Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell ($370,000). However, as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 draft, Russell reportedly received a signing bonus of $19.905 million.
It’s not like Rodgers didn’t get a decent payday. He has collected $5.215 million from the Packers in his first three seasons for playing meaningful snaps in basically one regular-season game — last season’s loss at Dallas. His bonus money was $4.13 million (a $1.5 million signing bonus, $3.01 million in an option bonus and $620,000 in a roster bonus). The remaining $1.085 million were his combined base salaries from 2005 to 2007."
From the Sports page of Sunday, May 18, 2008 Green Bay Press-Gazette by PG Sports reporter Rob Demovsky.
"By now, everyone has heard Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson say it repeatedly.
“Aaron (Rodgers) is the guy,” Thompson, the Green Bay Packers’ general manager, said most recently during last month’s draft.
“He is our quarterback,” McCarthy, the Packers’ coach, also said during the draft. “That is his focus.”
In the NFL, however, there’s one thing that speaks louder than words — money. The sure-fire way to tell how the Packers’ top two football men feel about Rodgers will be what happens with his contract between now and the end of the 2009 season.
It appears Rodgers will enter his first season as a starting quarterback on essentially a two-year tryout. Not only is he in the unenviable position of replacing a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre, but he will do so with only two years left on the five-year contract he signed in 2005 after the Packers made him the 24th overall pick in the draft.
Neither Rodgers’ agent, Mike Sullivan, nor Thompson would comment specifically this week on Rodgers’ contract situation, but there’s no indication the Packers plan to do anything in the near future to extend Rodgers’ deal.
Why would they? He remains an unproven commodity. If he struggles over the next two seasons, they can look elsewhere without having to make another investment in Rodgers.
Still, Thompson admitted it’s an unusual situation — one he can’t recall being in with a quarterback during his 17 years as an NFL personnel man.
In Thompson’s three-plus-year history as the Packers’ GM, he has been proactive about extending the contracts of valuable players before they reach the final year of their deals. But with Rodgers, there’s not enough NFL playing history to warrant action.
“I’m never very specific about that, but whenever we think it’s appropriate,” Thompson said when asked when he might consider an extension for Rodgers. “Everybody’s kind of got these checklists, but we don’t put the cart before the horse.”
If Rodgers performs well early, the Packers might be inclined to begin contract talks with Sullivan. But any such move would involve a greater risk than usual because there would be such a small body of work from which to judge Rodgers.
If Rodgers plays well this season and holds to form into 2009 and doesn’t sign an extension, it would be tough to imagine the Packers letting him get to free agency. It’s almost unheard of that a team would let an established starting quarterback hit the open market.
“I wouldn’t speculate on something like that,” Thompson said. “That’s between us and Aaron.”
From Rodgers’ perspective, he has missed out on some serious money while sitting behind Favre the last three seasons and might be open to an extension sooner rather than later. If Favre had retired after the 2005 season and Rodgers had been the full-time starter from 2006 through 2009, he would have added $8.25 million in salary escalators from 2007 to 2009. If Favre had retired after the 2006 season and Rodgers had been the full-time starter from 2007 to 2009, he would have added $5.25 million.
Now, Rodgers can add only $2.2 million if he’s the starter this season and in 2009. Sullivan confirmed this week that none of the escalator money will kick in until 2009, meaning his 2008 salary will remain at $680,000.
That’s among the lowest 2008 base salaries of NFL starting quarterbacks. Only seven projected 2008 starters will make less than Rodgers this season. Only one projected NFC starting quarterback, Minnesota’s Tarvaris Jackson ($445,000), is scheduled to make less than Rodgers. The projected AFC starters who will make less than Rodgers are Denver’s Jay Cutler ($647,500), Kansas City’s Brodie Croyle ($445,000), the New York Jets’ Kellen Clemens ($445,000), Buffalo’s Trent Edwards ($370,000), Miami’s John Beck ($370,000) and Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell ($370,000). However, as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 draft, Russell reportedly received a signing bonus of $19.905 million.
It’s not like Rodgers didn’t get a decent payday. He has collected $5.215 million from the Packers in his first three seasons for playing meaningful snaps in basically one regular-season game — last season’s loss at Dallas. His bonus money was $4.13 million (a $1.5 million signing bonus, $3.01 million in an option bonus and $620,000 in a roster bonus). The remaining $1.085 million were his combined base salaries from 2005 to 2007."
