Adam Schefter: ‘I don’t believe’ Jordan Love will sign for less than Trevor Lawrence

The Jaguars signing Trevor Lawrence to a record NFL contract is pushing ripples all the way to Green Bay and Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

Love is the Packers first-round draft pick in 2020. Unlike Lawrence, he took his team to the playoffs this past season. But also unlike Lawrence, he’s only started for a season, waiting his turn for Aaron Rodgers to leave Lambeau Field.

So should Love earn more than Lawrence? ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter says he doesn’t believe the Packers quarterback will accept an offer less than what Lawrence received in Jacksonville.

“The latest factor that influences the discussions is the deal that Trevor Lawrence gets done with the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Schefter said in an interview with ESPN-Milwaukee. “That deal doesn’t help Green Bay, that deal helps Jordan Love. Because the average comes in at $55 million and, breaking news, I don’t believe Jordan Love is taking less than Trevor Lawrence, just don’t think he’s doing it.

“So if the (Love) deal had gotten done a few weeks ago, I could’ve seen that number being $52 million, $53 million, and now I see that number being north of $55 million. Not much north of, but north of $55 million. And by the way, the way the deal is also structured and set up, is not favorable to the Green Bay Packers and what they were hoping to do.”

The top five highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL all received new deals either last summer or this offseason. These are the numbers Packers management will be considering when they craft a deal for Love. Lawrence tied Burrow’s record deal from last year.

Top five highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL as of June

Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)	5 years, $275 million	$55 million
Joe Burrow (Bengals)	5 years, $275 million	$55 million
Jared Goff (Lions)	4 years, $212 million	$53 million
Justin Herbert (Chargers)	4 years, $262.5 million	$52.5 million
Lamar Jackson (Ravens)	4 years, $260 million	$52 million

Schefter says Packers owned upperhand before Lawrence deal

Jackson, briefly, was the highest-paid quarterback in league history until Herbert passed him. Then the Bengals paid Burrow, big-time.

Goff kicked off the negotiating season with his contract at an average of $53 million a year. Then came Lawrence.

Now, for the Packers. Schefter said Green Bay owned the upper hand until the Jaguars negotiated their deal with Lawrence. The Jags quarterback, who was the top player in the 2022 draft, has made the playoffs one time. Amongst the top five highest-paid, only Burrow and Goff have played in a Super Bowl.

Green Bay “wanted to get this deal done and instead, it’s a situation where before, they could have said ‘you’re not Joe Burrow yet, so you should get less than $55 million,'” Schefter said. “They could’ve said that. Now, they can’t say that because Lawrence just gets $55 million. To me, that was not a win for the Packers that this deal came down. We’ll see how it works out, but Jordan Love is in a favorable spot.”

Without a new contract, Love will earn $11 million this season. That’s a cheap deal for the Packers. Overall, If nothing changes, Love’s pay ranks only 18th amongst all quarterbacks headed into this season.

Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters he’d like a deal done with Love before training camp starts.

“Both parties want to get a contract extension done,” Gutekunst said. “Stability at that position really allows you to have some security with the way we build our team. We’re looking forward to getting that done, but it never goes fast.”

But the Packers can’t wait that much longer because the number likely will go up. The Dolphins are in contract negotiations with Tua Tagovailoa, while the Cowboys may give Dak Prescott a big boost. A $55 million annual salary now seems to be an entry point to the elite quarterback club.